TY - JOUR
T1 - Neurological examination of healthy term infants at ages 6 and 10 weeks in Tshwane District
AU - Nel, Marna
AU - Feucht, Ute
AU - Mulol, Helen
AU - Eksteen, Carina A.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2024. The Authors.
PY - 2024
Y1 - 2024
N2 - Background: Globally, there is a significant gap in detailed neurodevelopmental data for infants under 3 months, despite 6 weeks being identified a critical milestone for neuro-behavioural development. Normative values and optimal scores for healthy infants at 6 and 10 weeks postnatally are lacking in many settings. In South Africa, the statutory neurodevelopmental assessments at these ages exclude notable characteristics of central nervous system maturation and limit opportunities to collect data of early developmental progress. Objectives: Our study aimed to assess developmental characteristics of healthy term infants aged 6 and 10 weeks using the Hammersmith Neonatal Neurological Examination (HNNE). Method: A prospective longitudinal study was performed on 35 healthy term-born infants from low-risk pregnancies at 6 and 10 weeks’ postnatal age in the Tshwane district. The statuses of infants’ neurodevelopment in six domains were recorded using the HNNE. Optimality scores were derived from the raw scores of 34 items, using the 10th and 5th percentiles as cut-off points. Results: Evidences of neurodevelopmental advancements, particularly in posture, muscle tone and visual behaviour between 6 and 10 weeks were illustrated, and total examination optimality scores of 29.5 in 91% and 31.5 in 94% of infants were recorded at 6 and 10 weeks, respectively. Conclusion: This article provides data on the neurodevelopment characteristics of infants at and between 6-and 10-weeks post term ages. Clinical Implications: The findings support the viewpoint to identify important milestone characteristics during early screening.
AB - Background: Globally, there is a significant gap in detailed neurodevelopmental data for infants under 3 months, despite 6 weeks being identified a critical milestone for neuro-behavioural development. Normative values and optimal scores for healthy infants at 6 and 10 weeks postnatally are lacking in many settings. In South Africa, the statutory neurodevelopmental assessments at these ages exclude notable characteristics of central nervous system maturation and limit opportunities to collect data of early developmental progress. Objectives: Our study aimed to assess developmental characteristics of healthy term infants aged 6 and 10 weeks using the Hammersmith Neonatal Neurological Examination (HNNE). Method: A prospective longitudinal study was performed on 35 healthy term-born infants from low-risk pregnancies at 6 and 10 weeks’ postnatal age in the Tshwane district. The statuses of infants’ neurodevelopment in six domains were recorded using the HNNE. Optimality scores were derived from the raw scores of 34 items, using the 10th and 5th percentiles as cut-off points. Results: Evidences of neurodevelopmental advancements, particularly in posture, muscle tone and visual behaviour between 6 and 10 weeks were illustrated, and total examination optimality scores of 29.5 in 91% and 31.5 in 94% of infants were recorded at 6 and 10 weeks, respectively. Conclusion: This article provides data on the neurodevelopment characteristics of infants at and between 6-and 10-weeks post term ages. Clinical Implications: The findings support the viewpoint to identify important milestone characteristics during early screening.
KW - Hammersmith Neonatal Neurological Examination
KW - Sustainable Developmental Goals
KW - infants
KW - milestone characteristics
KW - neurodevelopment
KW - optimality scores
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85203335922&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.4102/sajp.v80i1.2072
DO - 10.4102/sajp.v80i1.2072
M3 - Article
C2 - 39229291
AN - SCOPUS:85203335922
SN - 0379-6175
VL - 80
JO - South African Journal of Physiotherapy
JF - South African Journal of Physiotherapy
IS - 1
M1 - a2072
ER -