CHICAGO — Babies born just a few weeks early face higher chances of developmental delays and behavior problems that show up in kindergarten, a study of nearly 160,000 children found.
The research bolsters arguments against scheduling cesarean-section births more than a few days early.
Babies in the study born at 34 to 36 weeks were 36 percent more likely to have developmental delays, including learning difficulties, in kindergarten than those born during the 37th to 41st week of pregnancy, which is the range for a full-term pregnancy.
Slightly more than 4 percent of “late pre-term” infants had developmental delays, compared with nearly 3 percent of the other infants. That would mean about 14,000 of about 360,000 late pre-term children born each year are affected.
While that excess risk is notable, it should not raise undue alarm, because most late preemies had no developmental problems, said lead author Dr. Steven Morse of the University of Florida.
The study was released today and appears in April’s Pediatrics journal. The Associated Press
