Poverty can affect babies’ motor development as early as six months of age. This is the conclusion of the first Brazilian study to examine the quantity and quality of motor development month by month and its relationship with socioeconomic vulnerability during the first months of life. The study, conducted by researchers at the Federal University of São Carlos (UFSCar) in the state of São Paulo, followed 88 babies from three to eight months of age. Fifty of the babies were from families experiencing socioeconomic vulnerability. The results were published in the journal Acta Psychologica .
“In addition to these babies reaching motor milestones [ such as grabbing objects, rolling over, and sitting up ] later than those not exposed to poverty, they showed less diversity in their movements, always repeating the same strategy to pick up a toy, for example,” explains Carolina Fioroni Ribeiro da Silva , a FAPESP scholarship recipient whose study was the subject of her doctoral thesis.
For Eloisa Tudella , a professor at UFSCar and research advisor, these subtle delays in infants exposed to poverty can have important impacts later on in preschool and school. “Although it was not the direct focus of the research, evidence indicates that mild motor delays in the first year of life can influence overall development and be associated with behavioral problems at school age, including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder [ ADHD ] and coordination disorders,” she says.
Good news
The study also showed that reversal is possible, as the delays were no longer significant by eight months. This possibility of improvement is attributed to the mothers’ engagement, as they began to follow the guidelines given during the visits at home (no fathers presented themselves as responsible for receiving the researchers).
“Most of the mothers exposed to poverty were teenagers and didn’t know how to stimulate their babies after birth. During the visits, we taught them simple practices, such as placing the child on their stomach, using crumpled paper as a toy, or talking and singing to the baby. All the mothers were very receptive, copied the actions during the evaluations, and began to interact more with their children, favoring their motor development,” says Silva, who is currently a postdoctoral fellow at Heinrich Heine University in Germany.
These short periods when the baby lies face down on a mat, awake and supervised, are known as “tummy time.” They are recommended for strengthening the head, neck, shoulders, back, and arms. This contributes to the development of the muscles and coordination necessary for the baby to roll over, sit up, crawl, and stand.
“In many homes, the babies spent more time confined to strollers, with few opportunities to explore their surroundings, strengthen their muscles, and try out different ways of moving, as there was no space for that,” says Silva.
The study used the Infant Motor Profile (IMP) for the first time in Brazil. The IMP is an instrument developed by researchers at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands. Unlike scales that only assess whether the baby has reached a certain motor milestone, the IMP also analyzes the quality of movements, including variation, fluidity, symmetry, and performance. This allows for the early identification of neuromotor risks, the planning of more precise interventions, and the monitoring of children’s progress over time.
According to Tudella, another advantage of the IMP is that it reduces the need for more expensive and complex assessments, such as magnetic resonance imaging in babies, which usually requires sedation.
Domestic chaos
Throughout the 334 assessments conducted for the study, the researchers identified the male sex as a risk factor. Boys were found to be 2.57 times more likely than girls to exhibit atypical motor development. The researchers cannot explain exactly why this difference exists. However, previous studies suggest that male babies are biologically more susceptible to inflammatory processes. Combined with poverty and unstimulating environments, this susceptibility increases the risk of motor delay.
Another aspect associated with worse outcomes is the presence of many adults in the same household, possibly because it creates a more chaotic environment with fewer safe spaces and opportunities for the baby to move around.
Protective factors include the availability of toys that stimulate fine motor skills, even improvised, economical ones, and older mothers. In the study, the average maternal age was 24, with a variation of seven years; most mothers exposed to poverty were teenagers. Those with better socioeconomic conditions were closer to 38 years of age.
Living with both parents and higher maternal education were also associated with better outcomes.
Silva explains that the first two years of life are the period of greatest neuroplasticity, when children intensely absorb stimuli from their environment. “Since it isn’t possible to immediately eliminate structural factors such as poverty or teenage pregnancy, home visit programs would be an excellent palliative measure,” says the researcher, who advocates creating programs with community health workers and physical therapists to give greater visibility to the needs of this population.
About São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP)
The São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) is a public institution with the mission of supporting scientific research in all fields of knowledge by awarding scholarships, fellowships and grants to investigators linked with higher education and research institutions in the State of São Paulo, Brazil. FAPESP is aware that the very best research can only be done by working with the best researchers internationally. Therefore, it has established partnerships with funding agencies, higher education, private companies, and research organizations in other countries known for the quality of their research and has been encouraging scientists funded by its grants to further develop their international collaboration. You can learn more about FAPESP at www.fapesp.br/en and visit FAPESP news agency at www.agencia.fapesp.br/en to keep updated with the latest scientific breakthroughs FAPESP helps achieve through its many programs, awards and research centers. You may also subscribe to FAPESP news agency at http://agencia.fapesp.br/subscribe .
Acta Psychologica
Contextual risk factors for atypical motor development in infants exposed to poverty: a longitudinal study
3-Dec-2025