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What did the project achieve?
“Our initial results suggest that babies who are born very prematurely could benefit from special play activities involving sticky mittens at around three months old,” says Dr Ruth Ford of Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge. “If shown to be effective in the long-term, this could provide a simple, quick and inexpensive way to help parents of very preterm babies to support their child’s learning and development at home.”
In the UK, around 8,000 babies are born very early – before 32 weeks of pregnancy – each year. While advancements in neonatal care have improved survival rates for these vulnerable babies, they are at increased risk of developing learning difficulties and special educational needs as they grow up.
Previous research with 3-month-old full-term babies has shown they benefit from play activities involving sticky mittens – Velcro-covered mittens that can be used with Velcro-covered soft toys to allow babies to grab and manipulate toys by swiping and touching them. Doing these simple and fun activities can give them a head-start in developing exploratory behaviours that are fundamental to their learning – such as touching and moving objects. There is growing evidence that interventions to improve babies’ exploratory behaviours have beneficial effects on their brain and cognitive development.
“In this project, we wanted to see whether play experiences using sticky mittens and toys could similarly improve the exploratory behaviours and later cognitive development of babies who are born very prematurely,” says Dr Ford.
The study involved 62 very preterm babies around three months after their original due date. Over three weeks, half of these babies played with toys using sticky mittens, while the other half watched their caregiver move their toys around. The researchers compared the exploratory behaviours of both groups before and after the intervention.
“The group of babies who played with sticky mittens showed larger improvements than the other group of babies in some aspects of their exploratory behaviours, mainly those related to exploring rattles and teethers using their mouths,” says Dr Ford.
This result is encouraging because recent evidence from full-term babies suggests that enhanced mouthing of objects during exploratory play is positively linked with the subsequent development of fine motor and language skills.
“Given these promising findings, our next step will be to see whether the benefits of the intervention are lasting,” says Dr Ford. “Our long-term goal is to help parents to support their preterm baby’s learning at a very early age, using simple activities that can be carried out quickly and easily at home. The support from Action has been invaluable in making this project happen.”
References
- Office for National Statistics (England and Wales). Birth Characteristics, 2022 edition, Table 8: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/livebirths/datasets/birthcharacteristicsinenglandandwales [website accessed 25 June 2024]
- Public Health Scotland, Births in Scottish hospitals, Table 7.3: https://publichealthscotland.scot/publications/births-in-scotland/births-in-scotland-year-ending-31-march-2023/ [website accessed 25 June 2024]
- HSC Public Health Agency, Children’s Health in Northern Ireland 2021/22, Table 5.4 https://www.publichealth.hscni.net/sites/default/files/2023-05/RUAG%20Childrens%20Health%20in%20NI%20-%202021-22%20-%20FINAL.pdf [website accessed 25 May 2022]
This research was completed on
Estimates suggest that around 9,000 babies are born very prematurely, before 32 weeks of pregnancy, every year in the UK.1-4 While better care has improved these vulnerable babies’ chances of surviving, their early arrival puts them at risk of developing a range of lifelong problems, including learning difficulties. Dr Ruth Ford of Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, is investigating whether babies’ learning and social skills improve if they are encouraged to take part in special play activities three months after their due date. Interventions that improve learning could benefit babies throughout childhood and beyond.
How are babies’ lives affected now?
All newborn babies are vulnerable, but those born very early are particularly so. They can face difficulties with breathing, feeding and fighting infections, and are at increased risk of developing lifelong disabilities.
Some babies who are born very early, before the brain is fully developed, go on to experience learning difficulties and special educational needs. “It is not uncommon for children who were born very prematurely to have a tendency to be impulsive and inattentive, which can impair their social interactions and interfere with school work,” says Dr Ford. “They can have problems with reading and arithmetic, for example.”
“There is an urgent need to find new ways to improve babies’ learning and spare them, as much as possible, from learning difficulties,” says Dr Ford. “It would be especially good to find things that help during the first few months of life, when the brain is developing very rapidly.”
How could this research help?
The team is investigating whether babies who are born very prematurely could benefit from taking part in special play activities, supported by their parents, around three months after their original due date.
“Evidence suggests that just 10 minutes of certain play activities each day at this age helps babies who were born at full term to get better at moving and exploring objects, activities that are essential to learning,” says Dr Ford. These simple, quick and inexpensive play activities also seem to improve babies’ social understanding and their ability to interact with caregivers. The benefits seem to persist for months after babies stop taking part in the play activities.
“We believe babies who are born very prematurely may benefit from these play activities too, and this funding gives us an exciting opportunity to find out whether that’s true,” says Dr Ford.
References
1. Office for National Statistics. Tables on births and infant deaths, by gestation, England only. Table 4b. Website accessed 16 January 2017.
2. Office for National Statistics. Births in England and Wales: 2015. Live births, stillbirths, and the intensity of childbearing measured by the total fertility rate. Website accessed 16 January 2017.
3. National Records of Scotland. 2015 Births, Deaths and Other Vital Events - Preliminary Annual Figures. Website accessed 16 January 2017.
4. Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA). Births. http://www.nisra.gov.uk/demography/default.asp8.htm Website accessed 16 January 2017.
| Project Leader | Dr Ruth M Ford PhD |
| Project Team | Professor Sarah Redsell PhDDr Samantha Johnson PhDDr Angela D'Amore MBBS |
| Project Location | Department of Psychology, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge |
| Project Location Other | School of Nursing and Midwifery, Anglia Ruskin University, CambridgeDepartment of Health Sciences, University of LeicesterNICU, Rosie Maternity Hospital, Cambridge |
| Project duration | 3 years |
| Date awarded | 21 November 2016 |
| Project start date | 1 November 2017 |
| Project end date | 31 July 2022 |
| Grant amount | £134,594 |
| Grant code | GN2542 |
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