Environmental influence on preterm and term infants over rolling movement.

Abstract

Introduction: Over a lifetime constant changes occur in the complexity and quality of the execution of motor actions,
characterizing the motor development. External (environmental) factors may act positively or negatively in the course of some motor skill, such as the ability of rolling. Objective: It is about an analytical cross-sectional study aimed
to analyze the positioning of the cradle of preterm and terms infants relating to the rolling movement. Method: The
sample comprised 27 infants of both genders, divided into two groups (G1 and G2). G1 was composed of 8 premature
infants included in a motor stimulation project and G2 was composed of 19 term infants enrolled in a nursery school.
A questionnaire was sent to parents/caretakers and later a practical assessment was held in which the rolling motion
was stimulated with rattles, three times for each side (left/right), observing the presence or absence of facilitation in
this action. Results: It was found that in both groups, most of the cradles were placed with one of the sides against
the wall and the statistical analysis of the data indicated a significant correlation to the placement of the cradle in space
and the ease of rolling for preterm infants (p<0.05) and terms infants (p<0.01), while the stimulation was performed
by the study researcher. Conclusion: Therefore, it was possible to conclude that there was an ease of rolling to the
contralateral side of the wall, i.e. to the side of largest environmental stimulus, which emphasizes the importance of a
sensory-rich environment in the course of a proper infant development.