Elk Grove Village, IL—(ENEWSPF)—February 10, 2014. Older children who are exposed to only small amounts of adult speech are known to be at risk for language delay. A new study in the March 2014 Pediatrics examined whether the same is true for preterm infants. For the study, “Adult Talk in the NICU With Preterm Infants and Developmental Outcomes,” published online Feb. 10, researchers recorded 16 hours of adult speech and vocal sounds from infants in the neonatal intensive care unit at Women & Infants Hospital in Rhode Island. Researchers used a Language Environment Analysis (LENA) digital recording device to record adults talking to 36 preterm infants at age 32 weeks, and again at age 36 weeks.
