Babies born very early face a life of challenges
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 28, 2013 09:24 AM

With premature birth, there is always the chance of immediate and long-term complications. For example, the Mayo Clinic states that during infants' first few weeks, breathing, heart and brain problems could arise. Over a longer period of time, the negative effects on these individuals' cognitive abilities could become apparent, with learning disabilities surfacing once they start school.

The parents of premature babies may wonder how likely it is that their children will grow up to have cognitive problems. Researchers from Stanford University's Division of Neonatal & Developmental Medicine and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital in California believe they have the answer. Based on their recent study, the researchers found that 24 percent of premature infants went on to have moderate cognitive impairment, while 43 percent had severe cognitive impairment, according to Reuters Health.

This research, which analyzed data from nine older studies, focused on babies who were born at 25 weeks' gestation or earlier.

"First of all, they're at high risk of not even surviving, even when everything is done to help them," said Stanford's Henry Lee, who worked on the study, as quoted by the news source. "Even when they do survive, they have high rates of disability."

With this research in mind, the parents of premature infants may want to have them take an IQ test for kids when they are older to get a sense of their cognitive abilities.