People who hold occupational therapy jobs can be helpful to newborns who enter the world before they are fully developed, according to research cited in a published report.
Premature babies' long-term prospects improve developmentally with the intervention and assistance of occupational therapists, according to according to Futurity.org, which referenced an upcoming report in the Journal of Pediatrics. The study probed newborns who entered the world at least 10 weeks before they were due, for which their bodies often were not as prepared as those of full-term newborns.
"We found that by the time premature infants are at or near their original due dates, they have significant developmental differences compared to full-term infants," first author and research assistant professor Bobbi Pineda with the program in occupational therapy at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis told the news source.
The study closely looked at 75 premature infants who were being treated at the neonatal intensive care unit at St. Louis Hospital.
Occupational therapists help patients perform routine activities after they have endured injuries, illnesses and disabilities, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.