Objective: To review the literature that addresses the relationship between prematurity, birth weight, and development of language in Brazilian children. Sources: A systematic review of studies published between 2003 and 2012 in English and Portuguese and indexed in PubMed, Lilacs, and SciELO. The following key words were used in the searches: Prematuro, Prematuridade, Linguagem, Prematurity, Language, Speech-Language Pathology. Fifty-seven articles were retrieved, 13 of which were included in the systematic review. Summary of the findings: The results showed an association between prematurity, low birth weight, and language development. In studies that made comparisons between preterm and term infants, there was evidence that preterm infants had poorer performance on indicators of language. It was also observed that children born with lower birth weight had a poorer performance on measures of language when compared to children with higher weight and closer to 37 weeks of gestational age. Regarding the type of language assessed, expression proved to be more impaired than reception. Higher parental education and family income were indicated as protective factors for the development of language. Conversely, lower birth weight and higher degree of prematurity emerged as risk factors. Conclusions: Preterm birth and low birth weight poses risks for the language development of children, especially in the first years of life. Therefore, it is essential that pediatricians are aware of the language development of these children to ensure proper treatment. ଝ Como citar este artigo: Zerbeto AB, Cortelo FM, Filho EB. Association between gestational age and birth weight on the language development of Brazilian children: a systematic review. J Pediatr (Rio J). 2015;91:326---32.

Preterm birth and low birth weight poses risks for the language development of children, especially in the first years of life. Therefore, it is essential that pediatricians are aware of the language development of these children to ensure proper treatment.

The identification of mothers with low sense of coherence allows the early intervention of health professionals, contributing to decrease the rates of early weaning in the population.

RESUMO. O presente artigo é um recorte de uma pesquisa que investigou as vivências de pais de filhos surdos. Neste texto, discutiremos, sob a ótica dos pais, os sentimentos envolvidos na significação da surdez de seus filhos, desde a suspeita até o enfrentamento. O estudo consiste de uma pesquisa qualitativa em que foram ouvidos cinco genitores que tinham filhos com diagnóstico de surdez. Para a coleta dos dados utilizou-se a entrevista semiestruturada, realizada individualmente. Os relatos foram gravados, transcritos, lidos e agrupados em categorias temáticas, e a seguir, discutidos. Os resultados apontaram uma diversidade de sentimentos e reações experimentados pelos pais, abrolhados muitas vezes pelo desconhecimento sobre a surdez. Imobilidade, impotência, fragilidade e tristeza apareceram nos relatos dos pais, assim como a falta de recursos internos para lidar com as demandas da nova situação. O tempo e a convivência se mostraram fatores importantes na ressignificação da surdez e aceitação do filho.