Study: Preemies Face Risks As They Grow Up

Babies Born Prematurely More Likely To Be Childless And Less Educated In Adulthood

(CBS/AP)  The largest-ever study of the long-term consequences of premature birth finds that children born early have higher death rates in childhood and are more likely to be childless in adulthood.

Experts called the research significant because it followed 1.2 million Norwegian births over decades. It also raises questions about future risks for even tinier babies saved today by modern medicine.

New drugs and therapies first used widely in the 1990s now save smaller and sicker babies. So the babies in the study may have been healthier, on average, than children born premature in recent years, experts said.

"Are we improving their survival but at the expense of significant problems down the road?" asked study leader Dr. Geeta Swamy of Duke University Medical Center.

Most preemies grow up to have good health and normal reproduction, but the researchers found heightened risks compared with babies born at full term from 1967 to 1988. The findings add to known consequences of prematurity such as lung problems, disabilities, mental retardation and school delays.

U.S. rates of premature births climbed steadily during the past two decades reaching an estimated 12.8 percent of births in 2006, government figures show. That means one in eight babies is born premature, CBS News correspondent Michelle Miller reports.

More than 540,000 babies were born premature that year. Fertility treatments that result in multiple births and older mothers contributed to the rise. (The rate of premature births in Norway that year was 7 percent.)

"In the United States, there is an epidemic of preterm birth, and prevention is absolutely critical," said Dr. Alan Fleischman of the March of Dimes. He was not involved in the study.

Fleischman said prevention efforts include hormone treatment for women with a history of giving premature birth, avoiding inducing labor unless medically necessary and reducing the number of embryos implanted at one time during fertility treatments.

In the study, appearing in Wednesday's Journal of the American Medical Association, more than 60,000 Norwegian children were born premature, about 5 percent overall. Only single births were included.

As expected, babies born early were more likely to die during the first year of life compared with babies born at term.

Surprisingly, their increased risk of death persisted as they aged.

The children who were born five to nine weeks early (28 to 32 weeks into the pregnancy) showed a doubled risk of death from ages 1 to 5 compared with children born at normal term. (The overall risk of death was low: 33 of the 5,880 children in the premature group died.)

Scientists still don't know precisely why babies are born pre-term. Miller reports that in this study, many of the mothers were unmarried and poor, and at the time, none had access to the advances in neo-natal care available now in the United States.

When the researchers looked at boys and girls separately, they found a stronger link in boys between premature birth and higher death rates in childhood.

The causes of childhood deaths are still being analyzed, but birth defects and childhood cancers played a role, Swamy said.

In adulthood, other differences showed up. Prematurity was linked to lower levels of education and more childlessness in both men and women in a subset of more than 580,000 births from 1967 through 1976.

Women who were preemies had a higher risk of giving birth to premature babies themselves. The risk of next-generation premature births increased with the severity of prematurity in the mothers.

The study didn't examine reasons for these greater risks. Possible culprits include genetic differences, birth defects, economic factors and social obstacles, Swamy said.

As in other studies, there were more premature births among single mothers and those with less education.

The research was based on data from Norwegian birth, death and other records.

Norway's homogenous population and its universal access to medical care make the findings a "best case scenario," said Dr. Wanda Barfield of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. She co-authored an accompanying editorial in the journal.

In the United States, premature birth rates among black mothers are higher than among white mothers, she said.

The findings suggest people may want to tell their doctors if they were born early.

"That may help doctors to manage adult health and reproductive conditions for future generations," Barfield said.

[momandjwew]

Thanks CBS for the story. I am the mother of twins, gestation 27 weeks with weights of 1 lb 8oz and 2 lb 9oz. They both were diagnosed with cerebral palsy within the first year of life. They are both developmently delayed. One has asthma and mild Autism and the other was diagnosed failure to thrive two years ago. CBS follow up with what the US does for these kids and the battle that state agencies go through every congressional session for funding. Our childrens battles do not end at the NICU doorway. They are just beginning. I find that help for my kids is full of red tape and when you think you have found a light the state or federal government changes the rules. Our children have great potential that can only be realized if given the correct help at the right time. Our children have a window of oportunity to meet the world head-on if we catch them early. Spin this story, please.

[kglad2]

I want to take a minute and share my story after reading the life long effects of the preterm birth study. I lost my 1st child at 24.5 weeks. He was extremely premature: 1 lb 8.7 oz & 12 in. He survived only 4 days. Since then I have become so passionate about educating others about prematurity. I have written a children''s book called Heaven''s Brightest Star to help grieving families begin their healing process. Please visit www.heavensbrighteststar.org to learn more about my story and experience with preterm birth. I also want to address that there are many successful measures to help prevent preterm birth today. Being high risk with my subsequent pregnancies, I became a patient and huge advocate of Hologic''s FullTerm, The Fetal Fibronectine Test. It is a simple, reliable and reassuring test that can detect if you are going to go into preterm labor during the next 2 weeks. Luckily, I have been fortunate to get negative test results. However, if a woman is to get a positive test result then their doctor will be able to better manage their pregnancy for the best possible outcome. I believe continuing to spread the word about prematurity, educating woman about the medical advances that are available today, along with supporting the March of Dimes in their research we are able to save more babies from being born to soon.

[oleander8]

"Is it just me or does "preemy" sound a bit politically incorrect." Posted by fibonacci

...It''s just you.

[buttonjockey]

Our son was 8 weeks premature and is doing fine but what this article neglected to report is the epidemic levels of premature birth due to drug and alcohol abuse. As our son stayed in the neonatal intensive care unit, we noticed how few parents came to visit their infants. We asked a nurse about it and she said that probably over half of the premature babies will never see either parent. Their fathers may be completely unknown and mom is a drug or alcohol abuser. I was aghast! I think that statistics on survival rates and developmental issues should take into account the chemical history of the parents and we should stop turning a blind eye toward a major (and grossly expensive) social problem.

Oh yes. As parents we are both health conscious and our son is doing very well.

[hypnotoad72]

What would Geeta advocate - selective abortions, perhaps?

[seascape4]

Premies happen to well educated, middle class families who are not using in vitro technology. Don''t blame the families. The experience is difficult enough to bear without adding more guilt on them. Our daughter was born 12 weeks early in 1983. We were terrified, given the statistics. She spent 10 weeks in the hospital and didn''t walk until she was 18 months old. Today...she in law school. She won a full academic scholarship. What would she be like with an extra 5 IQ points....she is scary enough as it is. Parents, hang in there. You are going through hell right now, but most kids turn out fine.

[seascape4]

Premies happen to well educated, middle class families who are not using in vitro technology. Don''t blame the families. The experience is difficult enough to bear without adding more guilt on them. Our daughter was born 12 weeks early in 1983. We were terrified, given the statistics. She spent 10 weeks in the hospital and didn''t walk until she was 18 months old. Today...she in law school. She won a full academic scholarship. What would she be like with an extra 5 IQ points....she is scary enough as it is. Parents, hang in there. You are going through hell right now, but most kids turn out fine.

[crooksmd]

Look at the Fastest Man in the World, Tyson Gay he is a preemie baby. They said he wouldn''t live because he only weighed 2 pounds at birth. Then the doctors said he wouldn''t make it to the age of 5-10 years old. Again look at this man now! He is a healthy athlete and father.

[hypnotoad72]

"As in other studies, there were more premature births among single mothers and those with less education."

So married mothers with more education don''t count?

And for most people in general, that pesky risk of death tends to go up with age... unless those who pop out after 9 months have a chance at immortality, yes?

[fibonacci_]

Is it just me or does "preemy" sound a bit politically incorrect.