Outlook promising in some regards - Premature Birth - longitudinal study - Brief Article - Statistical Data Included

USA Today (Society for the Advancement of Education), Oct, 2002

The outlook for babies born severely premature or at very low birth weights is now better understood and in many ways quite heartening, according to researchers at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital of University Hospitals of Cleveland (Ohio). The study followed 242 babies born between 1977 and 1979 weighing less than two pounds. The researchers assessed the level of education, cognitive and academic achievement, rates of chronic illness, and risk-taking behavior at 20 years of age.

The young adults who had very low birth weight are more likely to have one or more chronic health problems, especially neurosensory conditions (cerebral palsy, blindness, or deafness), and are shorter than normal-weight babies. They also have lower IQs, score lower on academic achievement tests, and are less likely to have graduated from high school or have enrolled in a four-year college. However, 51% have IQ scores within the normal range; 74% have completed high school; and 41% are pursuing post-secondary education.

The most promising and surprising aspect of the findings is that these young adults are less likely to engage in risk-taking behavior, use alcohol or illicit drugs, engage in sexual activities, or become pregnant. "We believe that this limited risk-taking behavior may result from increased parental monitoring of very low-birth-weight children," suggests Maureen Hack, professor of pediatrics, Case Western Reserve University.

"What is unexpected is their relative success despite such difficulties. These are children who face substantial challenges, beginning very early in their schooling, because of cognitive and behavior problems," note Marie McCormick of Harvard School of Public Health and Douglas Richardson of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. "The fact that they are almost as successful as the members of the normal-birth-weight comparison group in completing school and at least as successful in avoiding risk-taking behavior speaks to a resilience in these young persons and their families that needs to be examined further."