Applying Prechtl's Assessment of General Movements for Preterm Infants Through Telemedicine

Prechtl's Assessment of General Movements (GMA) is a tool used in early infancy to identify infants at high risk of cerebral palsy and neurodevelopmental impairment. General movements are complex motor patterns that involve the entire body, moving fluidly in different directions through the arms, legs, and trunk with variable speed, amplitude, force and intensity. During fetal development, spontaneously generated motor patterns, including general movements, can already be observed. The GMA is a functional assessment of the maturing nervous system that takes advantage of the fact that typically developing infants will have a progression in their general movements. This pattern is characterized by a writhing pattern in the early weeks post-term, followed by the emergence of fidgety movements at 3-5 months of age.