Babies who are smaller than expected at birth tend to have poorer school performances as teenagers, a study has found, external.
More than 92,000 children were followed from infancy to adolescence, all of whom were born at full term, between 37 and 41 weeks pregnant.
The researchers at the University of Warwick found that children who weighed less than most babies of the same sex, born at the same stage of pregnancy, tended to achieve lower scores in subjects like mathematics and reading.
The differences were still apparent in adolescence, suggesting that the link between size at birth and academic performance persists well beyond early childhood into mid-teens.
“For babies born at term, being small for their stage of pregnancy may indicate adverse effects on the brain that affect learning and last into adolescence,” Prof Dieter Wolke said.
However, he said the long-term effects of being born small may be altered by parenting home stimulation and school support.
His colleague Prof Siobhan Quenby said not every baby born smaller than expected would experience difficulties, but the study’s results underlined the importance of “monitoring a baby’s growth and ensuring that children receive appropriate support as they develop”.