Children born before 38 weeks are classified as preterm. Which statement best describes a common developmental consideration for these children?

Children born before 38 weeks are classified as preterm. Which statement best describes a common developmental consideration for these children?

• A. They have no risk for developmental delays
• B. They only need growth monitoring
• C. They require catch-up in developmental milestones
• D. They will reach milestones at the same time as full-term peers

Answer: (C)

Preterm infants often lag behind term peers in achieving developmental milestones, so ongoing neurodevelopmental surveillance and support are important. Because maturation starts earlier in gestation than after birth, clinicians assess development using corrected age (subtracting the weeks of prematurity) to gauge progress. A common course for many of these children is catch-up in development over the first couple of years; they may reach milestones later than their full-term peers but eventually align as they grow, with some catching up by about age 2 (corrected age) or a bit later. This is why the statement that they require catch-up in developmental milestones best describes the typical consideration. Growth monitoring alone isn’t enough, since neurodevelopment can be affected even when growth is normal. It’s also not accurate to say they will reach milestones at the same time as full-term peers without accounting for corrected age, and there is a real risk for developmental delays in preterm children, especially early on.

Preterm infants often lag behind term peers in achieving developmental milestones, so ongoing neurodevelopmental surveillance and support are important. Because maturation starts earlier in gestation than after birth, clinicians assess development using corrected age (subtracting the weeks of prematurity) to gauge progress. A common course for many of these children is catch-up in development over the first couple of years; they may reach milestones later than their full-term peers but eventually align as they grow, with some catching up by about age 2 (corrected age) or a bit later. This is why the statement that they require catch-up in developmental milestones best describes the typical consideration.

Growth monitoring alone isn’t enough, since neurodevelopment can be affected even when growth is normal. It’s also not accurate to say they will reach milestones at the same time as full-term peers without accounting for corrected age, and there is a real risk for developmental delays in preterm children, especially early on.