What will happen in the study?
If you decide that you want to participate in this study, we will have you read and sign a study consent form, after you have received all of the information and your questions have been answered.
Here are the things that will happen in this study:
- We will review your baby’s records and collect information about your health, as the mother, and ask you to fill out some questionnaires.
- Your baby will have a brain MRI when he/she is at a corrected gestational age of 41 weeks. An experienced neonatologist and/or research staff will accompany your baby.
You will be asked to:
- Follow up with developmental appointments for your baby, as part of routine clinical care until your baby is 2 years old. Doctors and developmental specialists will perform motor and cognitive tests to assess your child’s developmental level and share this information with our study team.
- Come in for one additional appointment when your child is 3 years old for non-invasive cognitive and motor tests and to complete some brief surveys to see how your child is doing at home.
What are the good things that can happen from this research?
Very premature babies are at high risk for developmental disabilities involving movement/motor skills, learning, and/or behavior. We identify such risks early enough (by 3 months corrected age) to give your baby a good chance at reducing his/her risk through targeted early interventions.
By conducting this study, we hope to more fully understand the benefits and limitations of advanced brain MRI and developmental tests. The information that we learn from this study could help us to improve the care and developmental outcomes for preterm babies.