Do children born prematurely have more difficulty in school as they grow older? This is the question that researchers at the University of Bristol have looked into. A previous meta-analysis had already looked at the academic performance of young people born before term. In this new study, published in the “Childhood Illnesses” archives of Britsh Medical Journal, scientists are more interested in how they can progress. They have also discovered that, if the test results of premature children are lower at the beginning of their schooling, they can “catch up” in the rest of their studies.
The researchers looked at school test data from 12,586 infants born between 23 and 42 weeks gestation – infants born between 23 to 36 weeks were placed in the “premature” category, those born between 37 to 42 weeks in the category. “At term”. Schooling was broken down into ten key stages, to allow comparison of academic results over several periods.
Don’t underestimate their abilities
It would appear that during the first four key stages, premature infants were more likely to be in the group with the lowest assessment scores. Nevertheless, they recorded the greatest improvement in their results. They gradually “caught up” to the performance of others, from the age of 11 (ie key stage 2). “Even though we knew that children born prematurely had more difficulty in school than their peers, we did not know what their capacity was to catch up over time.”, Explain in a Bristol press release Dr David Odd, university lecturer and neonatal consultant at Southmead Hospital (England).
‘In the UK, six percent of births take place four weeks or earlier than expected, so it’s important for both parents and education professionals to know that targeted support might be more effective, he continues. Compared to their first tests in school, children are doing better than expected, so those managing their support should not underestimate their abilities and plan accordingly. “
Because according to the researchers, this work underlines the importance of early schooling and the environment in these infants. They suggest that the support of parents and teachers, even long after premature birth, can have an impact on how the child develops.
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