Advertising Disclaimer
PEDIATRICS Vol. 85 No. 1 January 1990, pp. 17-23
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when eLetters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow E-mail this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My File Cabinet
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via CrossRef
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Parker, S.
Right arrow Articles by Cabral, H.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Parker, S.
Right arrow Articles by Cabral, H.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Digg   Add to Facebook   Add to Reddit   Add to Technorati   Add to Twitter  
What's this?

Jitteriness in Full-Term Neonates: Prevalence and Correlates

Steven Parker MD1, Barry Zuckerman MD1, Howard Bauchner MD1, Deborah Frank MD1, Robert Vinci MD1, , Howard Cabral MPH1

1 From the Division of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, Department of Pediatrics, Boston City Hospital, and Boston University Schools of Medicine and Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts

The prevalence and correlates of jitteriness were evaluated in a sample of 936 healthy full-term infants. Jitteriness was seen in 44% of this sample: 23% were classified as mildly jittery, 8% as moderately jittery, and 13% as extremely jittery. Jitteriness was seen most commonly in infants who were sleepy or active and least commonly in infants who were quietly wakeful during the neonatal examination. Jittery infants were more likely to be difficult to console when crying (P < .01) and less visually alert (P < .001) than were nonjittery infants. Jitteriness was seen more commonly in slightly smaller (P < .05) and shorter (P < .001) infants, in those more than 12 hours old (P < .01), and in those not exposed to general anesthesia (P < .05). In an expanded sample of 1054 healthy and sick full-term infants, jitteriness was observed more commonly in neonates who had been exposed prenatally to maternal marijuana use (P < .01), but not to cocaine use (P = .1), and whose mothers had a positive postpartum urine assay for marijuana (P < .05) or cocaine (P = .06). The magnitude of these drug effects, however, was small. These findings have important implications for the early parent-infant relationship, pediatric practice, and future research.

Key Words: neonatal behavior • neonatal jitteriness • neonatal neurologic examination • jitteriness

Submitted on September 22, 1988
Accepted on March 20, 1989


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Facebook Facebook   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to Technorati Technorati   Add to Twitter Twitter    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 J Child NeurolHome page
C. H. Tsay, J. C. Partridge, S. F. Villarreal, W. V. Good, and D. M. Ferriero
Neurologic and Ophthalmologic Findings in Children Exposed to Cocaine in Utero
J Child Neurol, January 1, 1996; 11(1): 25 - 30.
[Abstract] [PDF]

Home page
 J Child NeurolHome page
A. Shuper, J. Zalzberg, R. Weitz, and M. Mimouni
Jitteriness Beyond the Neonatal Period: A Benign Pattern of Movement in Infancy
J Child Neurol, July 1, 1991; 6(3): 243 - 245.
[Abstract] [PDF]