Babies With Low Birth Weight Are Poor in Studies, Says Research

Newborns with lower birth weight have smaller brain volume and lack in academics, a latest study reveals.

Researchers led by Caron A.C. Clark from the Department of Psychology and Child and Family Center at the University of Oregon  studied data from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of 97 young people.

These young people were part of a low birth weight study of babies born between 1982 and 1986 in a Cleveland neonatal intensive care unit.

The academic growth of the 201 original participants was assessed early in their school years, again four years later, and then annually until they were almost 17-years old, reported The Inquisitr.

The study found that volume of mid-brain structures, regions responsible for connectivity, executive attention, and motor control,  was reduced, especially among those with low birth weight (below 1.66 pounds) and very low birth weight (less than 3.31 pounds).

Over half of the babies weighing less than 1.66 pounds and more than 30 percent with less than 3.31 pounds at birth struggled in their studies. "Pre-term birth does mean that you are much more likely to experience brain abnormalities that seem to put you at risk for these outcomes," said Clark. "They seem to be a pretty strong predictor of poor cognitive development as children age. We really need to find ways to prevent these brain abnormalities and subsequent academic difficulties in these kids who are born so small," she said.

The researchers also found that 65.6 percent of very low birth weight and 41.2 percent of extremely preterm children had similar levels of academic achievement as those of normal weight peers.

The findings, which are based on a logistic regression analysis of the MRIs done approximately five years ago, were published in the May issue of the journal Neuropsychology.