Suchergebnisse

In the United States black women have for decades been twice as likely as white women to give birth to babies of low birth weight who are at elevated risk for developmental disabilities. Does the black-white disparity in low birth weight contribute to the racial disparity in readiness?

The author summarizes the cognitive and behavioral problems that beset many low birth weight children and notes that not only are the problems greatest for the smallest babies, but black babies are two to three times as likely as whites to be very small. Nevertheless, the racial disparities in low birth weight cannot explain much of the aggregate gap in readiness because the most serious birth weight-related disabilities affect a very small share of children. The author estimates that low birth weight explains at most 3-4 percent of the racial gap in IQ scores.

The author applauds the post-1980 expansions of Medicaid for increasing rates of prenatal care use among poor pregnant women but stresses that standard prenatal medical care cannot improve aggregate birth outcomes substantially. Smoking cessation and nutrition are two prenatal interventions that show promise. Several early intervention programs have been shown to improve cognitive skills of low birth weight children. But even the most promising programs can narrow the readiness gap only a little because their benefits are greatest for heavier low birth weight children and because low birth weight explains only a small share of the gap.

The author stresses the importance of reducing rates of low birth weight generally and of extending to all children who need them the interventions that have improved cognitive outcomes among low birth weight children. But because black infants are more likely to be born at the lowest birth weights, preventing low birth weight—when researchers learn how to—is likely to be more effective than early intervention in narrowing birth weight-related racial gaps in school readiness.

Introduction: Damage to the motor control centres of the developing brain causes cerebral palsy (CP), which can occur during pregnancy, childbirth, or after delivery. Objective: To study the associated risk factor low birth weight for spastic CP in a retrospective study involving children with CP. Materials and methods: The study population included 187 children with CP. Data was collected from the medical records and from the parents of affected 187 Cerebral palsy children attended / admitted during the period from 2014 to 2020 in Rani Chandramani Devi Government hospital and Rehabilitation centre, PedaWaltair, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh and analysed retrospectively. The analysis of data from the case records included the following: new born gestational age, mother's age, gender, birth weight, maternal health factors, CP child order in the family. Results: Cerebral palsy was seen more in males 122 (65.24%) than females. Taking 2500 grams is the average weight of a normal baby in our Indian set up, 187 Cerebral palsy children are below 2500 g. Out of 187 babies, 115 are of Low Birth Weight (LBW) with weight ranging from 2500 g to 1501 g,55 very low birth weight (VLBW) weight ranging from 1500 g to 1001 g, and 17 were extremely low birth weight (ELBW) weight ranging below 1000 g. Among the total 187 low birth weight babies, 62 are Pre term and 125 are full term born. The maternal co-morbid factors anaemia 68 (36.36%) plays a major role in the present study. Gestational age is one of the major factor responsible for CP in children of low birth weight. More CP cases were seen in pre-term gestational age 28 weeks 23 (12.29%). Conclusion: Using recent advances in diagnostic modalities for detecting any deviations in the growing foetus and mother's health, appropriate and early interventions for problems that are treatable should prevent low birth weight and its serious consequences in the immediate or future neurodevelopmental status of the born child.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the socioeconomic, biological and behavioural factors influencing low birth weight and prematurity in Botswana. Data were from the Botswana Obstetric Record covering the years 1990 to 1995, and were analysed with both descriptive statistics and multivariate analysis. The study found that the major positive risk factors for low birth weight were: late and less frequent attendance of antenatal care services, having experienced pregnancy termination before, low or no education, unmarried motherhood and place of birth. With regard to prematurity, age, late and less frequent attendance of antenatal care services, unmarried motherhood and place of birth were found to be the major positive risk factors. The importance of early and regular antenatal care attendance, marriage and place of birth cut across both low birth weight and prematurity.

Studies have documented a strong relationship between low birth-weight status and adverse child outcomes such as poor school performance and need for special education services. Following a cohort of more than 1,300 low-income and predominately African American children in the Chicago Longitudinal Study, the authors investigate whether birth weight and family socioeconomic risk measured at the time of the child's birth predicts placement into special education classes or grade retention in elementary school. Contrary to previous research, the authors find that low birth weight (<5.5 pounds) does not predict special education placement. Rather, these children (especially boys) are more likely to be retained in grade as an alternative approach in addressing poor school performance. Family socioeconomic risk at birth is a significant predictor of the need for remedial services. The authors also assess whether a high-quality preschool program offered at the ages between 3 and 4 can reduce the negative effects of low family socioeconomic status and birth weight on the need for special education and grade retention. Preschool participation in the Child—Parent Centers is found to reduce the likelihood of school remediation. The effects of preschool are greater for children from families with higher levels of socioeconomic disadvantage. The beneficial effects of preschool on special education placement are also larger for boys than for girls.

Background: Low Birth Weight (LBW) is one of the most important health indicators in the world. It has certain known and unknown causes. The present study was designed to evaluate the role of socio-behavioral factors on neonatal birth weight.Methods: The current case-control study was conducted on 300 eligible neonates (150 LBW infants as cases and 150 normal body weight infants as controls) in 2015. The national pregnancy care forms of the neonates kept in heath care centers in Kerman were used. The data was analyzed running Independent samples t-test, Chi square test, and Fisher's Exact test in SPSS. The significance level was set as 0.05.Results: Preterm birth (P<0.001), number of primary care during pregnancy (P=0.001), mother's age (P=0.049), consumption of supplements during pregnancy (P=0.03), and history of substance abuse in mothers (P=0.03) were found to have significant roles in having LBW neonate.Conclusion: Identifying the sociobehavioral risk factors of Preterm labor and modifying them to prevent preterm birth are essential approaches to prevent LBW. Governments should pay special attention to nutritional status of teenage and young girls to have healthy mothers and babies in the future. Women of childbearing age should be screened and educated about risky behaviors. Pregnancy care and support should be delivered to all pregnant women according to the standard methods.