Reading The Premature Infant

Abstract

Abstract Such a perspective sees preterm infants as fetuses who develop in extrauterine settings at a time when their brains are growing more rapidly than at any other time in their life span (McLennan, Gilles, & Neff, 1983). As members of the human species, they require three secure environments to support their development: their mother’s womb, their parents’ bodies, and their family’s and com munity’s social group (Hofer, 1987). While they are organized with such bio and neurodevelopmental needs, preterm infants are removed from these environments at a highly vulnerable phase of brain development.