Educational outcomes following preterm birth
8. Resources
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Glossary
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Ages and Stages Questionnaire | A caregiver-completed questionnaire that may be used by health or education professionals to detect developmental delay in the areas of fine and gross motor skills, problem solving, communication and social-emotional skills. |
| Anxiety | An emotion that is characterised by fear, nervousness, tension, worry or dread. It can lead to physical symptoms such as heart palpitations, shortness of breath, feeling sick, shaking or trembling and dizziness. |
| Birth history | Information about what happened to a baby around the time they were born and any health problems they might have had. For babies born preterm, this will include information about their gestational age at birth, the healthcare they received whilst in a neonatal unit and any medical diagnoses or health or developmental problems they may have. |
| Chronological age | A person's age calculated from the day they were born to the present day. |
| Corrected age | The age a person would be if they had been born at term, on their expected due date. For people born preterm, corrected age is less than chronological age. For babies who are born very or extremely preterm, this may result in a difference of up to three months between their chronological and corrected age. |
| Depression | A low mood that can last for many weeks or months and can affect a person’s everyday life. Symptoms include feeling sad, lonely, unhappy or hopeless and finding no pleasure in the things you used to enjoy. |
| Developmental delay | A delay in reaching expected developmental milestones in areas such as thinking, communication, movement and social-emotional skills. |
| Key Person | A person who has primary responsibility for building a relationship with a child and assessing and supporting their learning and development in a preschool setting. A key person is typically the first point of contact for parents and carers. |
| Neonatal unit | A neonatal unit (NNU), or neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), is a hospital ward specialising in the care of sick or premature babies. |
| Pneumonia | An infection that can affect one or both lungs leading to breathing difficulties. |
| Post-traumatic stress | Feelings of fear, panic or anxiety that are caused by experiencing a stressful, frightening or distressing event. |
| preschool setting | An educational setting for children who are not yet old enough to attend primary or elementary school. This includes nurseries, day care centres, preschool settings and kindergarten. |
| preschool years | The time before a child is old enough to attend primary or elementary school. |
| SENCo | A Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator is an education professional who has primary responsibility for supporting students with special educational needs. |
References
- Coathup V, Carson C, Kurinczuk JJ, Macfarlane AJ, Boyle E, Johnson S, Rivero-Arias O, Petrou S, Quigley MA. Associations between gestational age at birth and infection-related hospital admission rates during childhood in England: Population-based record linkage study. PLoS One 2021 Sep 23;16(9):e0257341.
- Coathup V, Boyle E, Carson C, Johnson S, Kurinzcuk JJ, Macfarlane A, Petrou S, Rivero-Arias O, Quigley MA. Gestational age and hospital admissions during childhood: population based, record linkage study in England (TIGAR study). British Medical Journal 2020;371:m4075.
- Kerstjens JM, de Winter AF, Bocca-Tjeertes IF, ten Vergert EMJ, Reijneveld SA, Bos AF. Developmental Delay in Moderately Preterm-Born Children at School Entry. The Journal of Pediatrics 2011;159(1):92-8.
- Sandnes R, Le Floch M, Riquin RE, Nocus I, Muller JB, Bacro F. Parental stress and mental health outcomes following very preterm birth: A systematic review of recent findings. Journal of Affective Disorders 2024 Jun 15:355:513-525.
- Treyvaud K, Lee KJ, Doyle LW, Anderson PJ. Very preterm birth influences parental mental health and family outcomes seven years after birth. Journal of Pediatrics 2014 Mar;164(3):515-21.
Learning outcomes
By completing this resource you will be able to:
- Understand how preterm birth can affect children and families in the preschool years.
- Know how parents and professionals can support preterm born children before they start school.
This resource was developed by:
We would like to thank the following people who all helped in the development of this resource:
Content authors
Alison Green, Camilla Gilmore, Samantha Johnson, Catriona Ogilvy.
Technical developers
Heather Wharrad, Aaron Fecowycz and Lydia Jones.
Content reviewers
Erin Blessitt, Early Years Teacher, Bristol; Jenny Bosworth, Director of Teacher Education, School of Education, University of Leicester; Dr Jonathan Cusack, Consultant Neonatologist, University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust; Catriona Ogilvy, Founder and Chair of The Smallest Things charity.
Acknowledgements
With thanks to the participants of the PRISM Study focus groups for their input to developing the content for this resource.
Funding
The development of this section was funded by Loughborough University.
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