Movements and postures of infants aged 3 to 5 months: To what extent is their optimality related to perinatal events and to the neurological outcome?

BackgroundThe quality of spontaneous general movements (GMs), assessed in the individual infant, has emerged as one of the most reliable and valid predictors especially of severe neurological impairments.AimsTo implement a more detailed assessment of GMs and co-existing movements and postural patterns in a rehabilitation clinic, and to examine to what extend is the optimality of movements and postures of infants aged 3 to 5 months related to perinatal events and the neurological outcome.Study designProspective study of 41 infants (15 boys and 26 girls; 11 infants born preterm) admitted to the Department of Paediatric Neurology and Rehabilitation of the St. Joseph's Hospital in Kyoto (Japan).Outcome measuresClinical, neurological and psychological status at age 5.ResultsMotor optimality at age 3 to 5 months correlated positively with neonatal optimality (r = 0.48, p < 0.01), especially regarding factors associated with hypoxic events. A non-optimal motor performance (lowest possible scores) predicted cerebral palsy with 100% accuracy. Other adverse outcomes such as developmental delays, developmental coordination disorders, pervasive developmental disorder or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder turned out not to be associated with early motor performance. In 13% of cases absence of fidgety movements proved to be false positives, but their normal appearance along with a smooth concurrent motor performance was solely found in infants with a normal neurological development.ConclusionAssessing the quality of motor performance at age 3 to 5 months considerably improves our ability to identify infants at risk for maldevelopment.