Alberta Infant Motor Scale (AIMS) Performance of Greek Preterm Infants: Comparisons With Full-Term Infants of the Same Nationality and Impact of Prematurity-Related Morbidity Factors

Background. Only a few studies have been conducted with the objective of creating norms of the Alberta Infant Motor Scale (AIMS) for the assessment of gross motor development of preterm infants. The AIMS performance of preterm infants has been compared with that of the Canadian norms of full-term infants, but not with that of full-term infants of the same nationality. Moreover, the possible impact of prematurity-related morbidity factors on AIMS performance is unknown. Objectives. The aims of this study were: (1) to evaluate AIMS trajectory in a “large population of Greek preterm infants and create norms, (2) to compare it with the AIMS trajectory of Greek full-term infants, and (3) to examine the possible influence of neonatal morbidity on AIMS scores in the preterm sample. Design. This was a cross-sectional study. Methods. Mean AIMS scores were compared, per month (1-19), between 403 preterm infants (