Children born preterm: A 19-year perspective

In this longitudinal, prospective study, 39 preterm children, consecutively born before 35 weeks of completed gestation and 23 full-term children were followed up after 19 years. Multifaceted aspects of outcome were evaluated. The results indicate a clear increase in somatic morbidity during growth and young adulthood among the preterms. Psychometric evaluation of cognitive development at age 19 yielded no differences between the groups, although the preterms had shown inferior performance compared to the full-terms at age 4. As a method of evaluating the mother-child relationship, percept-genetic tests displaying pictorial mother-child themes were utilized for the assessment of the unconscious attachment model. At 9 years of age, the preterm children as well as their mothers differed significantly from controls in their reports of the mother-child theme. At age 19, the preterms differed significantly from the full-terms in their reported perceptions of the attachment and separation themes. A greater degree of expressed emotion was found among the preterm mother-child dyads. The frequency of mental health problems and the degree of psychological distress shown by both preterms and full-terms fell within the expected range based on age-related population norms. Preterms and full-terms had similarly positive scores regarding self-esteem and quality of life. The results of the present study show that, apart from some increase in somatic morbidity and a conceivable emotional vulnerability concerning attachment and separation, individuals born moderately preterm seem to function as well as young adults in general in important domains of life.