OBJECTIVES: to compare the motor development of school-aged term and pre-term birth children. METHODS: two groups of seven-year-old children were included in the study: a) a pre-term group of 35 children, from low-income families, born at a gestational age of <34 weeks and/or with a birth weight of <1500 g, and b) a control group of 35 term-birth children, of an equivalent age, sex and socio-economic background to the pre-term group. All the children were evaluated using the Movement Assessment Battery for Children (M-ABC) test. RESULTS: Wilcoxon's test revealed a significant difference between the two groups in terms of the overall score (Z=-4,866, p<0,001) and the score for specific sub-sections of the M-ABC, the pre-term group performing less well than the term group. CONCLUSION: 57% of the preterm children showed signs of coordination disorders, underlining the importance of following up the development of such children up to school age.
Prematurity; Infant, premature; Child development
