Preterm birth, defined as childbirth occurring at less than 37 weeks or 259 days of gestation, is a major determinant of neonatal mortality and morbidity and has long-term antithetical consequences for health.1-3 Children who are born preterm have higher rates of cerebral palsy, sensory deficits, learning disabilities and respiratory illnesses compared with children born full term. The morbidity related with preterm birth often extends to later life, resulting in enormous physical, psychological and economic costs.4, 5
Preterm children are at greater risk of motor impairments and these impairments often persist into adolescence. Premature infants comprise a special group of high-risk infants. Their motor development is distinct from that of healthy full - term infants and their occurrence of motor disorders is higher than their incidence of recognition and behavioral disorders.6 About 10 – 20% of all pregnancies and 9% of neonates are at risk7. According to international studies, 2.6 – 10% of neonates with birth weight of <1500 g).
The body forms the base from which both the infant as a person and the world are constituted. A neonates’s body is a tactile-kinesthetic body. Through moving,
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The scale abides by the principles of dynamical systems, as the motor skills are tested by just observing infants as they move in and out of 4 positions: prone, supine, sitting, and standing. Supposedly, this assessment should allow therapists to understand the interplay of the child’s neuromotor system within the specific physical contexts (eg, gravitational effect) of the motor