Study finds no significant differences in cries between pre-term and full-term babies after age correction, challenging prior beliefs.
- Researchers from the Penn State Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders found that pre-term babies cry differently than full-term babies, but differences may not be concerning after age correction.
- Age correction involves calculating a pre-term baby’s age based on how many weeks they were born early to adjust for developmental expectations.
- The study’s findings contradict prior beliefs that noisier cries from pre-term babies may indicate a higher risk of negative developmental outcomes compared to full-term babies.
- Analysis of distress cries from pre-term and full-term babies showed no significant differences in cry patterns or noise levels, suggesting occasional variation is developmentally normal.
- The presence of noisy cries was not found to be a good predictor of a baby’s developmental outcome, allowing future research to focus on other crying features for predicting newborn developmental outcomes.
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Pediatrics, Neonatology, Developmental Psychology