Parents' Experiences of Early Care and Education for Children Born Prematurely

• Authors Carolyn Blackburn and Merryl Harvey
• Published by Early Child Development and Care,
  May 2018

SUMMARY

In England, around 10,000 children are born very preterm at 28 to 32 weeks and a further 60,000 are born moderately preterm at 32 to 37 weeks. Babies born early may take longer to reach developmental milestones because they are assessed according to their earlier birth date and not their due date. In addition, preterm children have been found to experience cognitive, behavioural and emotional problems, including difficulties with mathematics, visual-spatial skills, memory and attention.

Researchers from Birmingham City University wanted to find out how parents of children born prematurely experienced early care and education. In particular they wanted to find out about the early social experiences of young children born prematurely, any problems in finding suitable childcare provision, and what parents want early years practitioners to know about premature birth.

Their paper - A Different Kind of Normal - is based on a survey of 209 parents. Phone interviews were also conducted with 13 parents.

More than half - 57 per cent - of parents said they did not attend baby and toddler groups because of concerns about their child's health, 19 per cent said other parents at the groups did not understand premature birth and 17 per cent said the groups were not developmentally appropriate for children born prematurely. Some parents said they did not attend parent and toddler groups because they felt judged due to their child's small size and/or any developmental delays.

Almost all - 99 per cent - of parents were able to send their child to the pre-school of their choice although 17.5 per cent of parents changed their original choice when their child was born prematurely. Most chose a smaller setting, a setting with higher adult-child ratios and/or a setting where staff had significant experience of supporting children with special educational needs. The majority - 83 per cent - of parents told pre-school staff their child was born prematurely and an additional seven per cent were asked about this by the pre-school. Only 49.7 per cent of parents said staff subsequently asked about any developmental delays or difficulties resulting from premature birth.

Around 40 per cent of parents said the setting had adapted its strategies to support their child while 44.8 per cent said this was not necessary. The remainder - 15.3 per cent - reported the setting had not attempted to adapt its strategies even though this would have benefited their child developmentally.

When starting school, only 15.6 per cent of parents said teachers or teaching assistants asked about premature birth. Only 34 per cent adapted the environment or their teaching strategies to support preterm children despite the fact 61 per cent of parents felt their child needed additional support.

IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE

Early years settings could consider providing the space and time for parents of prematurely born children to meet and share experiences, suggest the authors. Parents would like pre-school and school staff to receive training about premature birth with most saying there should be training about the impact on learning and development, and the medical and health impact. Other important issues training should cover were the psychological impact on parents of having a preterm child, a specific focus on transition into pre-school and school, and supporting preterm children in building relationships.

FURTHER READING

• The Long-Term Consequences of Preterm Birth: What do Teachers Know? Samantha Johnson and others, Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology, June 2014
• The Impact of Preterm Birth on Mathematics, Achievement and Schooling, Dieter Wolke and others, Nuffield Foundation, March 2016
• Educational Performance of Children Born Prematurely, Craig Garfield and others, JAMA Pediatrics, August 2017