A new longitudinal study indicates that assessing movement quality significantly improves the early detection of motor difficulties in preterm infants. While traditional clinical follow-up relies on motor milestones to determine if a task is achieved, this research highlights that evaluating how an infant performs a task offers critical diagnostic data that milestone-based tools often miss.
Researchers followed 90 preterm infants through 18 months corrected age using the Infant Motor Profile and the Alberta Infant Motor Scale. The study found that while movement quality and milestone attainment generally align at 8 and 18 months, they diverge significantly at 12 months. At this stage, adaptability scores were negatively correlated with milestone achievement, suggesting that infants may meet gross motor expectations while displaying reduced fluency or variation indicative of underlying vulnerability.
Gestational age also played a distinct role in developmental outcomes. Extremely preterm infants demonstrated consistently lower adaptability and fluency scores compared to moderate-to-late preterm peers across all assessment points. These qualitative deficits appeared earlier than milestone delays, providing clinicians with a more sensitive metric for risk stratification.
The findings advocate for integrating movement quality assessments into standard neonatal and pediatric surveillance protocols. By evaluating both capability and execution, healthcare teams can identify infants requiring timely intervention even when conventional milestones appear reassuring. This dual approach ensures subtle motor dysfunctions are addressed before they impact long-term development.