[The assessment of general movements: a reliable tool for predicting the neurodevelopment of preterm infants in an very early phase].

OBJECTIVE: Cerebral palsy (CP) is a permanent disorder in the development of movement and posture in the developing infant brain and is one of the major disabilities that result from extremely preterm birth. Early identification of possible neurodevelopmental injury offers the opportunity to deliver intervention at a very early age and thus prevent severe disability. The assessment of general movements (GMs), has emerged as a reliable and valid predictor of severe neurologic deficits in infants. This method is based on a visual Gestalt perception of the quality of GMs in the preterm and term periods, and postterm up to 5 months. The quality of "fidgety movements" is the most valuable marker for predicting neurologic outcomes.