Study and comparison of growth and development of the first year of life in preterm and term infants

Evaluation of growth and development is necessary for having a healthy childhood and rapid and timely identification of at-risk children in order to prevent the adverse effects of developmental disorders, since growth and development may differ in semester and preterm children under the influence of environmental and social conditions, this study aimed to compare the growth and development of children in the first year of life.

In this retrospective cohort study, 252 twenty-month-old infants were evaluated. The exposure group consisted of 125 twenty-month-old infants who were born as late preterm (33-37 weeks) and 127 term infants were their cohort. The main outcome was weight, height, and 2-month-old at intervals. The second outcome was evolutionary status at 12 months of age based on ASQ questionnaire.

The mean age of mothers in the term group was 5.62 ± 32.02 years and in the exposure group was 5.61 ± 31.68 years. Weight and height increased with age in both groups, and there was a significant difference between the two groups (p=0.01) in each age stage. Developmentally, both groups did not show a significant difference at 12-month.

The physical growth of newborns can continue under the influence of prematurity until one year of age, but they did not show any difference in developmental between term and preterm infants except in the field of fine movements.