Development of exploratory behavior in late preterm infants

► We compare the development of exploratory behavior between late preterm and full-term infants. ► We evaluate changes in the frequencies of their manual exploratory actions at 5, 6 and 7months of age. ► Late preterm infants mouth the object less and delay gains in Waving compared to full-term infants. ► There are more similarities than differences in exploratory activity between late preterm and full-term infants. Exploratory behaviors of 9 late preterm infants and 10 full-term infants were evaluated longitudinally at 5, 6 and 7months of age. Eight exploratory behaviors were coded. The preterm infants mouthed the object less and had delayed gains in Waving compared to the full-term infants.