A hospital-based transitional care medical program for infants discharged from a neonatal intensive care unit is described. Family involvement is emphasized, as is interdisciplinary teamwork. Concerns that the program would encourage unnecessary hospitalization and increase vulnerability to infection have been proven unjustified. (Author/DB)

In response to O'Brien et al., who examined predictors of child outcome among at-risk infants as possible eligibility criteria for early intervention programs, this paper notes that most biological risk factors in infants are not adequately predictive of developmental dysfunction. It stresses that when social problems are the cause of…

Describes factors that can affect the referral rate for otoacoustic emission-based newborn hearing screening and discusses the screening results of 1,328 newborns screened with transient evoked otoaoustic emissions prior to hospital discharge. The youngest infants were as likely to pass as infants who were 24-27 hours old. (Author/CR)

This paper describes findings from a survey of the attitudes of 188 special education teachers toward ethical dilemmas surrounding surgery, active and passive euthanasia and the right to die. (Author/PB)

Study of the health behaviors and birth outcomes among 201 foreign-born and 616 U.S.-born women who received prenatal care at Boston City Hospital reveals that foreign-born women had better pre-pregnancy nutritional status and prenatal health behaviors, and their infants had greater birth weight. Limitations of this study are discussed. (Author)

Reviews research from several disciplines to examine impact of stillbirth and infant death on parents, and the effect of various socio-demographic, pregnancy-related, and postbirth factors upon parents' grieving and adjustment. Reports that one-third of mothers reported serious physical and emotional deterioration. Notes that care and emotional…

This article describes the reflective process component of a multisite study of the effectiveness of family-focused, developmentally supportive care with low birthweight infants. Reflection is felt to be of particular value to developmental care because of the nature of the developmental approach itself, which is theory-guided, relationship-based,…

Describes two studies involving chimpanzee mother-infant pairs in Tanzania between 1980 and 1987 that implemented control theory concepts. The first identified behavioral development in infant chimps; the second observed the growth of independence and parenting patterns. Concludes that the hierarchy of controlled variables develops consecutively…

Study of the visual development of 38 infants, children, and youths who were neurologically impaired following perinatal hypoxia found that all children showed impairments of 1 or more visual functions, though visual development continued and visual improvements were demonstrated up to age 16. (Author/JDD)

This study found that 19 of 51 infants with persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn were diagnosed with sensorineural hearing loss, an incidence 25 times greater than that of intensive care unit infants in general. Treatment durations with mechanical ventilation were significantly longer for the hearing-impaired group compared to the…

This study compared the interactive behavior of 20 cocaine-using mothers and their neonates with a control group of drug-free mothers and newborns. Cocaine-exposed infants were asleep or distressed for significantly longer periods, and cocaine-using mothers spent significantly more time disengaged from, and passively looking at, infants than did…

This article provides an overview of procedures commonly used in prenatal screening and diagnosis including ultrasound, amniocentesis, chorionic villus biopsy, maternal serum alpha-fetoprotein, and deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) analysis. Emphasis is on the role of the early interventionist in supporting families during prenatal diagnosis. (Author/DB)

Provides early-intervention professionals with a basic familiarity and understanding of some of the newest technologies employed in the neonatal intensive care units for neonates with respiratory distress syndrome, persistent fetal circulation, retinopathy of prematurity, intraventricular hemorrhage, and periventricular leukomalacia. Early…

Collaborative decision making in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) involves negotiation among the parents and medical professionals involved with a premature baby. The authors introduce economist Herbert Simon's concept of "satisficing" as a model for collaborative decision making in the NICU. Satisficing (a hybrid of "satisfy" and…