What are some of the developmental differences between preterm and normal term infants?
Annesley: Preterm infants are at greater risk from the effects of gravity on their systems; they do not have the musculature to move well against gravity or the muscular endurance to sustain postures against gravity. An infant that is immobile and or malpositioned will experience changes that can affect their ability to meet the demands of their environment and future motor skill acquisition. Hegarty: These infants are also at risk for intraventricular hemorrhage, from the pressures needed to ventilate them, which can lead to significant brain damage. In addition to these risks, the babies may also develop a perforated bowel from the inability to take full feeds or may aspirate feeds into the lungs when attempting to feed. Also, premature babies have difficulty maintaining and regulating their own body temperatures. TT: When does your specialty enter into the infant’s care? Frontier: It certainly varies, based on the infant’s needs. As a speech language pathologist, I think feeding dev
