Whether your baby is premature or not, you can’t predict exactly when he will reach each development milestone. The so-called development milestone, such as in infancy, baby can rise in 2-3 months, turn over in 4 months, sit in 6-7 months and so on. In fact, most babies are in the “normal range” when they are able to achieve the time span of the main developmental goals.
How to treat the “corrected age” of premature babies?
For premature babies, many pediatricians recommend the use of “corrected month age” to determine whether their development is in the normal range. The corrected age of months takes into account the length of premature delivery, which helps to make the assessment more accurate. Don’t forget that if you don’t give birth prematurely, your baby will have more preparation time in your womb to achieve the expected development goals.
If you use the corrected age, the time frame to reach the development milestone will change accordingly. For example, most full-term babies learn to sit alone at 4-7 months, while those born two months early usually sit for 6-9 months after birth.
The method of calculating the corrected age of a baby is to first calculate the time between the date of birth and the expected date of birth, and then subtract the time from his actual age.
For example, if your baby is 4 months old and 8 weeks premature, his corrected age is 4 months minus 8 weeks, and the result is about 2 months, that is to say, his age is equivalent to 2 months old full-term baby. His corrected age at 6 months should be 4 months, and that at 12 months should be 10 months.
According to an American pediatrician, corrected age may be more accurate in assessing developmental milestones in motor abilities such as turning, sitting and walking than in cognitive abilities such as babbling and imitating voice.
Expert advice
Experts explain that generally speaking, the cognitive development of premature babies is less lagged. As a result, the corrected month age was slightly more helpful in assessing motor development milestones. But don’t forget that every baby has its own differences.
If you are still worried about your baby’s development after using the correction for months, you must consult a doctor. Your baby may need early intervention before the age of 3.
Research shows that early intervention is very effective and has great benefits for premature babies. Many hospitals have also launched early training centers to train children’s sports function and intellectual development. However, when you choose, you must choose a regular hospital.
As your baby grows older and older, you’re likely to find that correcting the age of the month means less and less. Although there is no exact time limit for the correction of the age of months, when it comes to a certain time, usually around the age of two or three, the difference between the premature baby and the full-term baby is not obvious, you will naturally find that the difference between the use of the correction of the age of months or the actual age of months is not significant.
However, some parents think that even when the baby grows up, the corrected age is still useful, such as when the baby starts kindergarten, or which age group to add to the game.
If your baby looks smaller than his peers, you may want him to play with a smaller baby. Therefore, corrected age may still be significant in this case.
Finally, note that although development milestones are important, they do not fully reflect your baby’s overall situation. Experts point out that although development milestones are very helpful for you to understand your baby’s development, some of his abilities are not covered by the development milestones. Even if these abilities don’t fit into the developmental milestones, you can’t ignore them.
When your baby grows up, this advice will still make sense. A father of a premature baby said his son, now 5 years old, can play three 48 piece puzzles at the same time, but he can’t do it himself.
