Cry Analysis And Medical And Neurological Status In Preterm Infants

The purpose of this study was to relate acoustic characteristics of the cry to medical and neurological status in preterm infants. The sample included 40 infants divided into 4 groups, a group of term controls and 3 groups of preterms all born < 34 weeks gestational age and <1700 grams. The preterm groups included healthy preterms, sick infants who did not have CNS disease and sick infants with CNS disease. The cry was elicited by pain stimulus and recorded at 40 weeks conceptional age and analyzed by computer as in previous work. Medical risk was measured with the Hobel scale, neurological status with the Dubowitz exam. Preterm infants with CNS disease showed a longer cry, (p<.05), lower first formant (p<.03) than the other preterm groups. Term infants showed more energy in the cry than preterms (p<.004). Higher risk on the Hobel scale was correlated with a longer cry duration ( r=. 46, p<.04 ), lower first formant (r=.49, p<,.05) and more variability in cry duration (r=.60, p<.007). Abnormal scores on the Dubowitz were correlated with a lower first formant (r=.44, p<.05). Results suggest cry analysis may be useful in the early detection of the infant at risk.