Lending a helping hand to very preterm babies Version 1
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Lending a helping hand to very preterm infants: A randomised controlled trial of the effectiveness of ‘sticky mittens’ for enhancing cognitive development from ages 3- to 15 months
IRAS ID
228804
Contact name
Ruth Ford
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Anglia Ruskin University
Duration of Study in the UK
3 years, 0 months, 0 days
Research summary
BACKGROUND. 1-2% of babies are born very preterm (under 32 weeks gestation). While medical advances have improved survival rates, the fragile health status of such babies places them at significant risk of brain injuries that can lead to learning difficulties. Because the cost of supporting the special educational needs of very preterm children is considerable, there is a clear need for effective intervention programmes, especially ones implemented during early infancy while the brain is developing rapidly. Research with full-term 3-month-olds has shown that they benefit from play involving ‘sticky mittens’. Sticky mittens are Velcro-covered mittens that enable babies who have not yet learned to reach for things to move and explore Velcro-covered toys simply by swatting at them. Many studies have shown that sticky mittens improve the intellectual, social and motor development of full-term babies. To date, however, sticky mittens have never been used with very preterm babies.
OBJECTIVES & METHOD. We want to find out whether sticky mittens are helpful for very preterm babies. To do this we will recruit babies who are 3-months-old relative to their due date and assign them randomly to either an intervention group (who will use sticky mittens) or a control group (who will instead wear non-sticky mittens while watching their caregiver move the toys to their hands) with up to 10 minutes play per day for 3 weeks. We will compare the groups at ages 3-, 4-, 8- and 15-months on tests of intellectual, social and motor skills (total testing time of around 2 hours and 40 minutes per infant).
CLINICAL BENEFITS. Arranging play activities for babies using sticky mittens is easy and inexpensive. If the mittens are effective in improving outcomes for very preterm babies then their use could be recommended to parents as a simple means of supporting their child’s development.
REC name
East of England - Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
17/EE/0329
Date of REC Opinion
2 Oct 2017
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion