Long Lasting Effects of Preterm Birth
Angel McClucas
Psychology 221

The National Institute for Child Health and Development (NICHD) published an article about long lasting effects of preterm birth. NICHD performed several research studies that shows preterm birth leads to different long term challenges after birth. The researchers explained that infants born 32 weeks of gestation or less are considered preterm, with being born early their brain and other organs are not fully developed as they would be if the infant was born after 32 weeks. NICHD continued to explain that preterm infants, most times, require life-saving medical treatments to survive. These treatments can cause pain and stress that is unwanted for the infant. The pain and stress during these critical development periods can cause problems long term. Some challenges for these infants long term can consist of visual memory, poor planning skills, and symptoms of anxiety and depression. Several studies have been done by The Institute to understand how these stressors affect the brain development and to help find ways to make their first weeks after birth easier. NICHD is also hoping to promote healthy development with these studies. In one study the researchers measured the cortisol level in the children’s saliva before, during and after the children performed simple tests. The study showed the children who were born extremely preterm did worse than the children born preterm and full term. However, the study also showed that positive mother-child interaction helped reduce the stress in the extremely preterm children. In other studies researchers used brain imaging to measure cognitive deficits. These studies showed that children who were very preterm could not remember pairs of shapes that were shown just moments before. The very preterm children showed different brain activity than preterm or full term children. Another study showed some very preterm children’s brain waves were decreased compared to full term or preterm children when the children were doing no activity. NICHD’s study of long lasting effects of preterm birth supports their theory. The Institute believes that children who were born premature can have challenges after birth and into their childhood due to not being fully developed and needing treatment which causes pain and stress to the infant. When critiquing this article I find myself unsure on the research and study findings. I believe that preterm children do face challenges beyond birth; however, NICHD leads me to think it is because of the stress and pain from receiving medical treatment. Their research shows that extremely preterm children have a higher stress level than full and preterm children, but the research does not provide enough information on which to draw a conclusion. According to Dr. Ruffin, an assistant professor and extension child development specialist, “both positive and negative events can cause stress.” Details such as; what sort of environment do these children live in, how much prenatal care did they receive, how is their family life, and how many times did the simple tests occur are necessary. All of these factors can be a reason for stress. The Institute measured the cortisol hormone that is produced when individuals are stressed. There are different reasons as to why the cortisol levels can be high. According to Franklin Institute Online (2004) after a stimulus the human brain releases tranquilizing chemicals to balance the brain. If the cortisol hormone is dominant over the biochemical released to “calm” a person, the cortisol levels will continue to be higher. The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development do not provide information as to whether the children were tested for any sort of hormonal imbalances. The Long-Lasting Effects of Preterm Birth article does not explain why the infants were preterm. Preterm births can occur due to the mother’s health or the fetus’s health. There are also other outside factors that could be involved such as a car accident causing premature labor, alcohol, or drug use. As stated in A Child’s World (2011), “cocaine use during pregnancy has been associated with spontaneous abortions, delayed growth, premature labor, low birth weight, small head size, birth defects, impaired neurological development, and mild cognitive deficits into preadolescence” (p. 97). In conclusion, after reading and critiquing the Long-Lasting Effects of Preterm Birth, I do agree that children who were born preterm face more challenges than those who were born full term. However, The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development were unable to convince me that these challenges were directly related to the pain and stress the infants endured from treatments. The Institute was able to show through their research and studies that preterm birth and challenges beyond birth were associated with one another.

References Papalia, Diane., Feldman, Ruth. (2011). Pregnancy and Prenatal Development. Ryan, Michael, A Child’s World (p. 97). New York: McGraw-Hill. The Franklin Institute Online. (2004). Renew-Stress on the Brain. Website: http://www.fi.edu/learn/brain/stress.html The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. (2012). The Long-Lasting Effects of Preterm Birth. Website: http://www.nichd.nih.gov/news/resources/spotlight/012612-effects-preterm-birth.cfm Ruffin, N. J. (2009). Children and Stress: Caring Strategies to Guide Children (350-054). Retrieved from Virginia Cooperation Extension, Virginia Tech, Virginia State University website: http://pubs.ext.vt.edu/350/350-054/350-054.html