Martha G Welch1,2,3,4, Morgan R Firestein2, Judy Austin5, Amie A Hane1,6, Raymond I Stark2, Myron A Hofer1,4, Marianne Garland2, Sara B Glickstein7, Susan A Brunelli1,4, Robert J Ludwig2, Michael M Myers1,2,4. 1. Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, USA. 2. Department of Pediatrics, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, USA. 3. Department of Pathology & Cell Biology, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, USA. 4. Department of Developmental Neuroscience, New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, USA. 5. Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA. 6. Department of Psychology, Williams College, Williamstown, MA, USA. 7. EB Sciences, Oakland, CA, USA.
Abstract
BACKGROUND:Preterm infants are at high risk for adverse neurodevelopmental and behavioral outcomes. Family Nurture Intervention (FNI) in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) is designed to counteract adverse effects of separation of mothers and their preterm infants. Here, we evaluate effects of FNI on neurobehavioral outcomes. METHODS: Data were collected at 18 months corrected age from preterm infants. Infants were assigned at birth to FNI or standard care (SC). Bayley Scales of Infant Development III (Bayley-III) were assessed for 76 infants (SC, n = 31; FNI, n = 45); the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) for 57 infants (SC, n = 31; FNI, n = 26); and the Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (M-CHAT) was obtained for 59 infants (SC, n = 33; FNI, n = 26). RESULTS:Family Nurture Intervention significantly improved Bayley-III cognitive (p = .039) and language (p = .008) scores for infants whose scores were greater than 85. FNI infants had fewer attention problems on the CBCL (p < .02). FNI improved total M-CHAT scores (p < .02). Seventy-six percent of SC infants failed at least one of the M-CHAT items, compared to 27% of FNI infants (p < .001). In addition, 36% of SC infants versus 0% of FNI infants failed at least one social-relatedness M-CHAT item (p < .001). CONCLUSIONS:Family Nurture Intervention is the first NICU intervention to show significant improvements in preterm infants across multiple domains of neurodevelopment, social-relatedness, and attention problems. These gains suggest that an intervention that facilitates emotional interactions between mothers and infants in the NICU may be key to altering developmental trajectories of preterm infants.
RCT Entities:
BACKGROUND: Preterm infants are at high risk for adverse neurodevelopmental and behavioral outcomes. Family Nurture Intervention (FNI) in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) is designed to counteract adverse effects of separation of mothers and their preterm infants. Here, we evaluate effects of FNI on neurobehavioral outcomes. METHODS: Data were collected at 18 months corrected age from preterm infants. Infants were assigned at birth to FNI or standard care (SC). Bayley Scales of Infant Development III (Bayley-III) were assessed for 76 infants (SC, n = 31; FNI, n = 45); the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) for 57 infants (SC, n = 31; FNI, n = 26); and the Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (M-CHAT) was obtained for 59 infants (SC, n = 33; FNI, n = 26). RESULTS: Family Nurture Intervention significantly improved Bayley-III cognitive (p = .039) and language (p = .008) scores for infants whose scores were greater than 85. FNI infants had fewer attention problems on the CBCL (p < .02). FNI improved total M-CHAT scores (p < .02). Seventy-six percent of SC infants failed at least one of the M-CHAT items, compared to 27% of FNI infants (p < .001). In addition, 36% of SC infants versus 0% of FNI infants failed at least one social-relatedness M-CHAT item (p < .001). CONCLUSIONS: Family Nurture Intervention is the first NICU intervention to show significant improvements in preterm infants across multiple domains of neurodevelopment, social-relatedness, and attention problems. These gains suggest that an intervention that facilitates emotional interactions between mothers and infants in the NICU may be key to altering developmental trajectories of preterm infants.
Authors: Laura Whitehill; Joan Smith; Graham Colditz; Tiffany Le; Polly Kellner; Roberta Pineda Journal: Early Hum Dev Date: 2021-10-14 Impact factor: 2.079
Authors: Beatrice Beebe; Michael M Myers; Sang Han Lee; Adrianne Lange; Julie Ewing; Nataliya Rubinchik; Howard Andrews; Judy Austin; Amie Hane; Amy E Margolis; Myron Hofer; Robert J Ludwig; Martha G Welch Journal: Dev Psychol Date: 2018-10-04
Authors: Dana DeMaster; Johanna Bick; Ursula Johnson; Janelle J Montroy; Susan Landry; Andrea F Duncan Journal: Pediatr Res Date: 2018-10-16 Impact factor: 3.756
Authors: Katherine R Amato; Marie-Claire Arrieta; Meghan B Azad; Michael T Bailey; Josiane L Broussard; Carlijn E Bruggeling; Erika C Claud; Elizabeth K Costello; Emily R Davenport; Bas E Dutilh; Holly A Swain Ewald; Paul Ewald; Erin C Hanlon; Wrenetha Julion; Ali Keshavarzian; Corinne F Maurice; Gregory E Miller; Geoffrey A Preidis; Laure Segurel; Burton Singer; Sathish Subramanian; Liping Zhao; Christopher W Kuzawa Journal: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A Date: 2021-06-22 Impact factor: 11.205