Cumulative Antenatal Risk and Kindergarten Readiness in Preterm-Born Preschoolers.

ABSTRACT: A suboptimal intrauterine environment is thought to increase the probability of deviation from the typical neurodevelopmental trajectory, potentially contributing to the etiology of learning disorders. Yet the cumulative influence of individual antenatal risk factors on emergent learning skills has not been sufficiently examined. We sought to determine whether antenatal complications, in aggregate, are a source of variability in preschoolers' kindergarten readiness, and whether specific classes of antenatal risk play a prominent role. We recruited 160 preschoolers (85 girls; ages 3-4 years), born ≤33⁶/₇ weeks' gestation, and reviewed their hospitalization records. Kindergarten readiness skills were assessed with standardized intellectual, oral-language, prewriting, an

SUBMITTER: Heitzer AM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7222951 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature