Birth at 39 weeks gestation does not affect numeracy and literacy outcomes at school age: JAMA
Australia: A cohort study of 155,000 births revealed that birth at 39 weeks gestation does not impact primary school educational outcomes compared to birth at 40 to 42 weeks. The findings were published online in JAMA Network Open on November 17, 2023.
Birth at 39 weeks is becoming frequent, and this trend is likely to be associated with the findings of the ARRIVE trial published in 2018. This randomized clinical trial (RCT) revealed that bringing forward to 39 weeks gestation via labour induction lowered the rates of cesarean delivery and improved maternal experience of birth, raising the risk of adverse perinatal outcomes.
Birth at 39 weeks gestation is suggested to be safe for the mother and neonate. However, findings of long-term outcomes for children born at this gestational age have been conflicting. Therefore, Richard J. Hiscock, Mercy Perinatal, Mercy Hospital for Women, Heidelberg, Victoria, Australia, and colleagues aimed to evaluate the association of birth at 39 weeks gestation with childhood literacy and numeracy scores at ages 7 to 9 years compared with birth at 40 to 42 weeks gestation.
Reference:
Hiscock RJ, Atkinson JA, Tong S, et al. Educational Outcomes for Children at 7 to 9 Years of Age After Birth at 39 vs 40 to 42 Weeks’ Gestation. JAMA Netw Open. 2023;6(11):e2343721. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.43721
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