The very low birthweight infant: impact on parents during the pre-school years.
This paper presents follow-up data on 75 families who had children born between 1970 and 1971 at birthweights under 1501 g (very low birthweight: VLBW) and a comparison group of 55 families who had children born at the same time but at birthweights over 2500 g. An interview done when the children were 3--5 yr old revealed that parents with a VLBW child gave a less favourable evaluation of their child in 2 of 7 areas considered: development and play. These differences of evaluation were caused by a subgroup of 22 VLBW children with neurological and/or intellectual defects. No evidence came forth to indicate that the experience of having a VLBW child had significant or continuing impact on the family. An absence of serious social problems such as child abuse or the child's failure to thrive were noted.
D000328:Adult; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002658:Developmental Disabilities / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007230:Infant, Low Birth Weight; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D010988:Play and Playthings; D012890:Sleep; D014039:Toilet Training