Labour induction tied to poor scholastic performance

It is already known that the incidence of induction of labour is rising. The reason is due to medical and elective procedures. There needs to be more research on its effects on childhood neurodevelopment.

This background was studied by researchers in the present study. The study examined the impact of each week of gestation from 37 to 42 weeks on the school performance of offspring at 12 following uncomplicated pregnancies.

The study involved 226 684 liveborn children from uncomplicated singleton pregnancies, born from 37+0 to 42+0 weeks of gestation in the cephalic presentation in 2003–2008 in the Netherlands. Birth records were linked with national data on school achievement. Researchers compared school performance scores and secondary school levels at age 12 in those born after labour induction to those born after non-intervention.

The summary of the study results is as follows:

• Induction of labour reduced school performance for each gestational age up to 41 weeks, then with non-intervention at 37 weeks.
• Fewer children reached higher secondary school level (at 38 weeks 48% vs 54%) with an adjusted odds ratio of 0.88 following labour induction.

Our study has addressed the incorporation of long-term effects of labour induction in counselling and decision-making.

The study’s strengths included complete population coverage of the birth records, the reliable identification of the mother and child, the fetus-at-risk methodology, the sample selected, and maternal education adjustment.

The study's limitations were Residual confounding, lack of school performance scores, and underestimations.

Further reading:

https://obgyn.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/aogs.14520