Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2012 Aug;130(2):e257-64.
doi: 10.1542/peds.2011-2157. Epub 2012 Jul 2.

Academic achievement varies with gestational age among children born at term

Kimberly G Noble  1 , William P Fifer, Virginia A Rauh, Yoko Nomura, Howard F Andrews
Affiliations

Academic achievement varies with gestational age among children born at term

Kimberly G Noble et al. Pediatrics. 2012 Aug.

Abstract

Objective: The goal of this study was to examine the degree to which children born within the "normal term" range of 37 to 41 weeks' gestation vary in terms of school achievement.

Methods: This study analyzed data from 128050 singleton births born between 37 and 41 weeks' gestation in a large US city. Data were extracted from city birth records to assess a number of obstetric, social, and economic variables, at both the individual and community levels. Birth data were then matched with public school records of standardized city-wide third-grade reading and math tests. Specifically, we assessed (1) whether children born within the normal term range of 37 to 41 weeks' gestation show differences in reading and/or math ability 8 years later as a function of gestational age, and (2) the degree to which a wide range of individual- and community-level social and biological factors mediate this effect.

Results: Analyses revealed that gestational age within the normal term range was significantly and positively related to reading and math scores in third grade, with achievement scores for children born at 37 and 38 weeks significantly lower than those for children born at 39, 40, or 41 weeks. This effect was independent of birth weight, as well as a number of other obstetric, social, and economic factors.

Conclusions: Earlier normal term birth may be a characteristic considered by researchers, clinicians, and parents to help identify children who may be at risk for poorer school performance.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Gestational week at birth was significantly and positively associated with reading score: (F [4, 128 045] = 21.635; P < 7.2 × 10–18). Error bars represent ±1 SE.
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Gestational week at birth was significantly and positively associated with math score: (F [4, 127 527] = 27.904; P < 3.4 × 10–23). Error bars represent ±1 SE.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. van Baar AL, Vermaas J, Knots E, de Kleine MJ, Soons P. Functioning at school age of moderately preterm children born at 32 to 36 weeks’ gestational age. Pediatrics. 2009;124(1):251–257 - PubMed
    1. Eide MG, Oyen N, Skjaerven R, Bjerkedal T. Associations of birth size, gestational age, and adult size with intellectual performance: evidence from a cohort of Norwegian men. Pediatr Res. 2007;62(5):636–642 - PubMed
    1. Petrini JR, Dias T, McCormick MC, Massolo ML, Green NS, Escobar GJ. Increased risk of adverse neurological development for late preterm infants. J Pediatr. 2009;154(2):169–176 - PubMed
    1. Morse SB, Zheng H, Tang Y, Roth J. Early school-age outcomes of late preterm infants. Pediatrics. 2009;123(4). Available at: www.pediatrics.org/cgi/content/full/123/4/e622. - PubMed
    1. Baron IS, Erickson K, Ahronovich MD, Coulehan K, Baker R, Litman FR. Visuospatial and verbal fluency relative deficits in ‘complicated’ late-preterm preschool children. Early Hum Dev. 2009;85(12):751–754 - PubMed

Publication types