Background: Near term infants are a main part of preterms. They are at higher risk for mortalityand morbidity than term infants and could show a quite different development of tone and reflexesfrom them. The aim of the present study was to describe longitudinally, in a large sample of healthynear term infants, the development of the forward parachute reaction (FPR) and its correlationwith the age of acquisition of independent walking.Methods: The assessment of FPR (as absent, incomplete or complete) was performed at 3, 6, 9,12 months of corrected age in 484 infants, with a gestational age between 35.0 and 36.9 weeks. Theage of acquisition of independent walking was monitored until its appearance. A correlation analysiswas done between the age of walking and the acquisition of a complete or incomplete FPR, usingthe Spearman Rank correlation. The Mann-Withney U test was used to identify significantgestational age differences for the age of FPR appearance.Results: Most of infants had a two-step development pattern. In fact, they showed at first anincomplete and then a complete FPR, which was observed more frequently at 9 months. Anincomplete FPR only, without a successive maturation to a complete FPR, was present in the 21%of the whole sample. Infants with a complete FPR walked at a median age of 13 months, whereasthose with an incomplete FPR only walked at a median age of 14 months.Conclusion: We identified two groups within our sample of near term infants. The first groupshowed a progressive maturation of FPR, whereas the second one was characterised by the inabilityto get a complete pattern, within the one year observation's period. Furthermore, we observed atrend toward a delayed acquisition of independent walking in the latter group of infants.

Development of the forward parachute reaction and the age of walking in near term infants: a longitudinal observational study

CIONI, Matteo;PALERMO, Filippo;
2009-01-01

Abstract

Background: Near term infants are a main part of preterms. They are at higher risk for mortalityand morbidity than term infants and could show a quite different development of tone and reflexesfrom them. The aim of the present study was to describe longitudinally, in a large sample of healthynear term infants, the development of the forward parachute reaction (FPR) and its correlationwith the age of acquisition of independent walking.Methods: The assessment of FPR (as absent, incomplete or complete) was performed at 3, 6, 9,12 months of corrected age in 484 infants, with a gestational age between 35.0 and 36.9 weeks. Theage of acquisition of independent walking was monitored until its appearance. A correlation analysiswas done between the age of walking and the acquisition of a complete or incomplete FPR, usingthe Spearman Rank correlation. The Mann-Withney U test was used to identify significantgestational age differences for the age of FPR appearance.Results: Most of infants had a two-step development pattern. In fact, they showed at first anincomplete and then a complete FPR, which was observed more frequently at 9 months. Anincomplete FPR only, without a successive maturation to a complete FPR, was present in the 21%of the whole sample. Infants with a complete FPR walked at a median age of 13 months, whereasthose with an incomplete FPR only walked at a median age of 14 months.Conclusion: We identified two groups within our sample of near term infants. The first groupshowed a progressive maturation of FPR, whereas the second one was characterised by the inabilityto get a complete pattern, within the one year observation's period. Furthermore, we observed atrend toward a delayed acquisition of independent walking in the latter group of infants.
2009
parachute reaction; NEAR TERM INFANTS; CHILDREN; gait
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11769/26037
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