Low-Birth Weight Kids Have It Tougher in School
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iStock/Thinkstock(CHICAGO) — Low-birth weight babies experience more educational problems when they’re old enough to go to school as compared to babies born between 5.5 pounds and ten pounds.
David Figlio, a professor at Northwestern University’s Institute for Policy Research, says data seems to support this theory. Figlio and his colleagues examined the records of Florida school children over a ten-year period, which also revealed their birth weights.
Invariably, youngsters who were either premature or just smaller because of a mother’s health or substance abuse problems did poorer in school than babies who were at least 5.5 pounds or heavier.
Figlio explained, “The effects of poor neonatal health on adult outcomes are largely determined early — in early childhood and the first years of elementary school.”
However, the data also revealed that children whose parents were better educated than others in the study also performed better in school, which at least partially compensated for low-birth weight.
In terms of what parents might do to possibly help their children’s development, obstetricians and other health experts believe mothers should carry their babies as close to full term as possible while advising against unnecessary C-sections or inducing labor early.
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