A research team from Santé Québec – CHU Sainte-Justine and the University of Montreal has demonstrated for the first time that a non-invasive brain monitoring technique could predict the future development of babies born prematurely. In this work, among the 241 participating babies born between 29 and 36 weeks of pregnancy, one in three presented a developmental delay at the age of two.
Unlike very premature babies (less than 29 weeks), who are already subject to systematic monitoring, this population – although representing the majority of premature births – is less monitored.
“Very premature babies have been studied extensively by scientists – and are systematically followed by a pediatrician – while those born between 29 and 36 weeks have been less so. Science therefore knows less about the consequences of their prematurity on their development. The majority of these babies leave the hospital without further follow-up as if they had been born at full term,” explains Marie-Noëlle Simard, occupational therapist at Santé Québec – CHU Sainte-Justine and professor at the UdeM School of Rehabilitation.