The longer a baby stays in the womb, the smarter the child, new research shows.
A study using New York City public school children has found improved brain development and better academic test scores for full-term infants born even a few weeks later than others.
A baby is considered fully developed between 37 and 41 weeks and premature if delivered before.
Researchers compared 128,000 New York kids, including many from disadvantaged families, born at 37 weeks and 41 weeks and found slightly better reading and math skills for those born later.
In total, 15% of the babies in the study were delivered by Caesarean section and factors such as low birth weight and smoking during pregnancy were also factored in.
Researchers say the findings raise questions about the medical definition of prematurity and whether women should be allowed to schedule Caesareans early for convenience.
Mothers-to-be should “at least proceed with caution before electing to have an earlier term birth,” lead author Dr. Kimberly Noble, an assistant pediatrics professor at Columbia University Medical Center, said.
The differences in the test scores between the younger and older group of children were small but noticeable.
Among the infants born at 37 weeks, 2.3% had severely poor reading skills and 1.1% had at least moderate problems in math.
For kids born four weeks later, the results were 1.8% and 0.9% respectively.
Children born at 37 weeks were also a third more likely to have severe reading difficulty in third grade, and a 19% greater chance of having moderate problems in math, compared with 41-weekers.
Dr. Judy Aschner, a pediatrics professor and neonatology director at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, believes the results “will cause quite a stir.”
“There are still a lot of babies who are being delivered more or less electively at 37 and 38 weeks, with people thinking, ‘This is no big deal. These babies are full-term.’ I think this is a big deal,” Aschner told The Associated Press.
“I don’t want to panic moms whose babies come at 37 weeks,” added Aschner, who was not involved in the study. “But those elective early deliveries really need to stop.”
The results were published Monday in the journal Pediatrics.
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/smart-babies-stay-womb-longer-study-shows-improved-brain-development-full-term-infants-article-1.1106249#ixzz1zTa50BUh
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