[Follow-up study related to raising low-birth-weight infants relationship among physical growth, mental development and child-rearing anxiety].
OBJECTIVE
In order to clarify relationship among physical growth, mental development of low-birth-weight (LBW) infants and child-rearing anxiety of mothers, a follow-up study was accomplished for LBW cases from birth to three years of age in a regional group.


METHODS
A self-administered questionnaire survey was conducted for mothers whose premature infants were born from April 1992 through March 1993 and whose existence was confirmed from April 1995 through March 1996 in Fukui prefecture. A control group was selected from mature infants whose gestation was 37 weeks or more, who were born in the same year and in the same region. The questionnaire was focused on fetal and child growth, as well as child-rearing anxiety.


RESULTS
Of the subjects, while including only 6% very LBW infants, the percentage of full-term LBW infants was 55.3% and that of pre-term LBW infants was 44.7%. In the former group, the mean birth weight (MBW) was 2,319 g, the percentage of females was 63.3%, firstborn children was 59.2%, and light-for-dates (LFD) infants due to intrauterine growth retardation 76.9%. In the latter group, the MBW was 1,983 g, the percentage of females was 52.9%, that of firstborn children was 44.5%, and LFD infants was 14.3%. The growth of the LBW infants through the age of three fell into the same category of growth as the upper portion (1,250-1,499 g) of the very LBW infants rather than that of the mature infants. While the growth of appropriate-for-dates (AFD) infants at full-term were normal, that of LFD infants and pre-term infants was insufficient, and the percentage of those demonstrating catch-up of mature infants was less than 80%. The group of pre-term infants was retarded in the gross motor skills, but not language understanding and pronunciation of two-word sentences. The child-rearing anxiety in mothers who delivered pre-term infants was extremely severe after child birth. As the child grew older, however, the feeling of uneasiness was reduced. Mothers who were delivered of full-term LBW infants did not exhibit any fluctuation in child-rearing anxiety during the first three years.


CONCLUSIONS
Fetal size affects growth progress of children. The prognosis of LBW infants is not satisfactory and mothers who deliver full-term LBW infants continue to worry about their child's growth.
Morikawa
H
H
School of Nursing, Fukui Medical University.
Deguchi
Y
Y
Kusaka
Y
Y
Takeuchi
T
T
Nakanaga
Y
Y
Satake
N
N
D001007:Anxiety; D002657:Child Development; D002668:Child Rearing / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006128:Growth / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D007230:Infant, Low Birth Weight; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires