Birth Record Assessments and Test Performance at Eight Months

Abstract

INCREASED interest in children with possible minimal brain impairment has led to attempts to assess these deficits and their antecedent conditions. In the present study, we have compared the test performance of infants at 8 months with appraisals made on the basis of routine hospital records. The value of this comparison lies in determining if conditions during pregnancy and the perinatal period, which currently cause concern, are related to the infant's later development. Previous investigators^1-3 have reported the relation of specific paranatal conditions, such as anoxia, to neurological findings and test scores during childhood. In the present study, the prognosis was based on overall evaluations of hospital birth records which are available for most children. The objectives were to determine the reliability of these records and their value in predicting the later occurrence of generalized or specific deficits. The tests given at 8 months were Bayley's California infant mental