Influence of socioeconomic determinants on the motor development of infants accompanied by follow-up program in Manaus, Amazonas

Abstract

Child development is a gradual and continuous process divided into stages for theoretical purposes.  Intrinsic and extrinsic factors can positively or  negatively influence the evolution of the infant. The  objective was to evaluate the influence of maternal  higher education and family income on the Motor Development (MD) of infants. It was a cross-sectional  study that evaluated 106 children from the follow-up  program of a reference maternity hospital in  Amazonas. Two questionnaires were applied  (anamnesis script and socioeconomic profile); and  then Alberta Infant Motor Scale to assess the MD of  those infants. For statistical analysis, descriptive data  and Chi-square and Fisher’s exact tests were used,  with p ≤ 0.05. The higher level of maternal education  was related to the typicality of MD (71.4%, with p =  0.04), on the other hand, a lower family income,  despite having presented a higher percentage in  atypical children (51.9%), did not demonstrate a  significant relationship with MD atypicality. It was  observed that, in our sample, maternal schooling had  a greater impact on adequate MD when compared to  family income. This fact seems to be related to the  higher level of maternal education, which implies  better child care, in the face of general care and  stimulation.