We investigated health-related quality of life in preterm children in association with birth weight, breastfeeding and maternal emotional state. A cross-sectional study was carried out involving 97 mothers of 2-year-old children born below 2500 g. Participants completed the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory and a comprehensive psychological…

Fetal exposure to prenatal maternal stress can have lifelong consequences, with different types of maternal stress associated with different areas of child development. Fewer studies have focused on motor skills, even though they are strongly predictive of later development across a range of domains. Research on mechanisms of transmission has…

Background: Accumulating data from animal and human studies indicate that the prenatal environment plays a significant role in shaping children's neurocognitive development. Clinical, epidemiologic, and basic science research suggests that two experiences relatively common in pregnancy--an unhealthy maternal diet and psychosocial…

The primary purpose of this study was to examine uneven early development in premature infants. A multiple regression analysis was performed in which birth weight, length of gestation, length of assisted feeding, and length of ventilation were used to predict the descrepancy between a child's Psychomotor and Mental Scale scores on the Bayley…