Risk for babies born ONE WEEK early: Serious health problems more likely, warn British researchers
By FIONA MACRAE
Babies born only a week early are at higher risk of a host of serious health problems from autism to deafness, research has shown.
A study of hundreds of thousands of British schoolchildren found that those born at 39 weeks are more likely to need extra help in the classroom than those delivered after a full 40 weeks in the womb.
The findings are particularly worrying because one in five babies in England and
Wales is born at 39 weeks.
Wales is born at 39 weeks.
Special needs: Children born at 39 weeks were more likely to need help in the classroom than those who spent a full 40 weeks in the womb (posed by models)
With most planned caesareans carried out at 39 weeks, the finding raises concerns
that women who have the operation for non-medical reasons could unwittingly be
endangering the health and prospects of their children.
that women who have the operation for non-medical reasons could unwittingly be
endangering the health and prospects of their children.
Obstetricians said it emphasises the need for surgical deliveries to be put off for as
long as is safe for mother and child.
long as is safe for mother and child.
The finding also reinforces calls for more research into the causes of premature
births – and ways of preventing them.
births – and ways of preventing them.
