An Evaluation of Various Parameters of Maturity at Birth as Predictors of Development at One Year of Life

Abstract

The comparative value of various parameters of neonatal maturity for predicting the development of the infant at 1 yr. was assessed for a sample of 233 low-birth-weight and full-sized infants. The 4 “traditional” infancy-status measures (birth weight, gestational age, birth length, and head circumference) predicted the 1-yr. outcome measures best, the infancy-status variables, in general, contributing independently to outcome even when demographic predictors were included in multiple regression analyses. The Cattell Developmental Quotient was the outcome measure most closely related to the neonatal maturity measures. Implications of these findings are discussed.