News Release

Educational problems of very low birthweight babies persist into young adulthood

Peer-Reviewed Publication

March of Dimes Foundation

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y., JAN. 17, 2002 – Learning disabilities and low academic performance among children born at very low birthweight can persist even into young adulthood, according to a study published today in The New England Journal of Medicine.

“Half of the neurological disabilities in children are related to being born too soon,” said Dr. Jennifer L. Howse, president of the March of Dimes. “We’ve known for some time that being born prematurely or at low birthweight (less than 5-1/2 pounds) can cause serious problems with learning during a child’s early school years. Now we see that these disadvantages can last all through high school and beyond. We must learn more about preventing low birthweight and prematurity from occurring in the first place to give every child the best start in life.”

Dr. Howse said that since 1998, the March of Dimes has awarded nearly $8 million in grants to investigate biological and environmental factors that may contribute to the more than 450,000 preterm or low birthweight births each year in the United States. As part of this unique research program, the organization has selected six of the foremost research teams in the world in the area of preterm birth to receive March of Dimes Perinatal Epidemiological Research Initiative (PERI) grants.

“This program is part of the March of Dimes goal to change such tragic figures as those from the National Center for Health Statistics, which showed a nine percent increase in low birthweight and a 10 percent rise in very low birthweight during the 1990s,” said Dr. Howse. “And since the early 1980’s the rate of prematurity in this country has increased 23 percent. With the PERI initiative, we are expanding our research scope to study many possible causes, including biological and socioeconomic factors, that may contribute to preterm and low birthweight births.”

One of the PERI grantees, Xiaobin Wang, M.D., M.P.H., Sc.D., of the Department of Pediatrics, Boston University School of Medicine, and colleagues reported in a recent (January 9, 2002) issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association that pregnant women who smoke are much more likely to have a premature or low birthweight baby if two genes that normally control the body’s chemical modification of components of cigarette smoke were missing or inactive.

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“Outcomes in Young Adulthood for Very Low-Birth-Weight Infants,” by Maureen Hack, M.B., Ch.B., of the Department of Pediatrics, Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, OH and colleagues, appeared in NEJM, volume 346, number 3, January 17, 2002.

The March of Dimes is a national voluntary health agency whose mission is to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects and infant mortality. Founded in 1938, the March of Dimes funds programs of research, community services, education, and advocacy to save babies. For more information, visit the March of Dimes Web site at www.marchofdimes.com, its Spanish Web site at www.nacersano.org, or call 1-888-MODIMES.


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