Motor skills of extreme preterms in early intervention with and without cerebral palsy

Abstract

Introduction. There is association between extreme prematurity (PMT) and Cerebral Palsy (CP). However, the Central Nervous System is plastic, adapts and reorganizes in the face of possible changes. Thus, early intervention helps in the acquisition of such motor skills. Objective. To compare the acquisition of motor skills in the development of extreme premature babies with and without CP to early intervention. Method. Retrospective study composed of ten extreme premature babies (six without CP and four with CP). The t-student test, the Mann-Whitney test, and the Fisher's exact test were used, considering p≤0.05. Results: When associated weight, length and head circumference at birth, Apgar at 1st and 5th minutes, days in the Intensive Care Unit, and mechanical ventilation with the age of acquisition of motor skills, a negative statistically significant association between birth weight and acquisition age of the motor skill of rolling was observed. The higher the weight at birth and the Apgar score at the 5th minute, the lower the acquisition age of the motor skill of rolling. Also, the higher the Apgar score in the 5th minute, the lower the age of acquisition of the motor skill of crawling. There was no difference between the groups regarding the corrected age for motor skills, only walking up to 15 months, where PMTs with CP failed to achieve this ability. Regarding walking, the median between the groups in months of walking, where the age in months of PMT babies with CP, was significant. Conclusion. Extreme prematurity was not shown to be the greatest interference reason in the development of the babies, but rather having CP.