Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of contributors
- Preface
- Section 1 Introduction
- Section 2 Neuroimaging
- Section 3 Behavioral outcome
- 9 Behavioral outcome of preterm birth in childhood and adolescence
- 10 Preterm birth and fetal growth in relation to adult psychopathology
- Section 4 Neuropsychological outcome
- Section 5 Applied research
- Section 6 Conclusions
- Index
9 - Behavioral outcome of preterm birth in childhood and adolescence
from Section 3 - Behavioral outcome
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 06 July 2010
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of contributors
- Preface
- Section 1 Introduction
- Section 2 Neuroimaging
- Section 3 Behavioral outcome
- 9 Behavioral outcome of preterm birth in childhood and adolescence
- 10 Preterm birth and fetal growth in relation to adult psychopathology
- Section 4 Neuropsychological outcome
- Section 5 Applied research
- Section 6 Conclusions
- Index
Summary
Introduction
Although the numbers of live births registered in most industrialized nations have remained relatively stable in recent years, the incidence of preterm birth (birth at less than 37 completed weeks of gestation) and of low birth weight (LBW; birth weight less than 2500 g) has increased. The shorter the gestation, the smaller the baby and the higher the risk of death, morbidity, and disability. Survival rate among these vulnerable infants has improved considerably throughout the 1990s. As survival rates have improved, concern about the longterm outcome of the survivors of very preterm (VPT) birth (birth at less than 32 completed weeks of gestation) has risen. Poor outcomes in early childhood include global cognitive delay, cerebral palsy, blindness, and deafness. Given these neurosensory and cognitive disadvantages, which are described in detail in Chapter 3 and Chapters 11–15, preterm-born children and adolescents are at increased risk of adverse mental health outcomes. Clear characterization of the emotional and behavioral outcomes of preterm birth and of mediating and/or moderating biological and experiential variables may offer the opportunity for interventions that improve prognosis, both in the neonatal intensive care unit and after discharge.
This chapter reviews the literature on mental health outcomes of preterm birth in childhood and adolescence, with a particular emphasis on attention and hyperactivity problems, emotional difficulties, and socialization problems. It concludes with a discussion on the pathways to psychopathology in these neonatally compromised young people.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Neurodevelopmental Outcomes of Preterm BirthFrom Childhood to Adult Life, pp. 113 - 126Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2010