CAREABOUTKIDS

PARENTS: Pre-term Babies: Appropriate stimulation can enhance development of pre-term children. Studies of pre-term babies indicate that those who suffer severe medical complications tend to be more sluggish, less responsive, and more irritable than those who have had normal medical histories. Also, researchers have conjectured that pre-term babies, who must remain hospitalized for relatively long periods of time, may be deprived of the benefits of mutual stimulation between parent and child. That is, pre-term and their parents have less opportunity to learn from and teach each other through social interactions. MY WORD: Contact between babies and their parents is crucial to their development.