Children born via induced labor may score lower in school

Kids who were born from induced labor could be scoring lower in academic testing by the time they become preteen at age 12, new data has found.

Researchers at the University of Amsterdam are advising doctors to “think twice” before deliberately starting labor in situations where a child is healthy, but overdue, the Guardian reported.

Dutch gynecologist Wessel Ganzevoort and his academic team studied 226,684 children nearing the end of primary school — all of whom were born healthy between 37 and 42 weeks — to see differences between the kids born naturally versus those whose birth was induced.

It was found that each induced-labor student, up to and including the 41-week mark, scored an estimated one point lower on a standardized school test compared to the other children.

“For the individual, these findings are not life-changing, but they were very consistent throughout these last few weeks of pregnancy,” Ganzevoort said. “They suggest that these [birth] interventions are not without any bearing on the future.”

The research also found that 10% fewer induced children are on an academic track for college.

Ganzevoort pontificates that this is a result of very mild premature birthing.

“Some fetuses will be ‘finished’ at 36 weeks, whereas some won’t be done until 42 weeks,” he said.

“If you were programmed to be mature enough to start your own delivery at 42 weeks and you are heaved out [at] 39 weeks, actually you are three weeks premature.”

Regardless, the doctor believes inducing birth should be treated on a case-by-case basis.

“If there are other bigger risks that are approaching you, then this very mild form of prematurity may be acceptable, but if there are no other strong reasons [to induce delivery], maybe we should think twice,” he said.

According to a 2022 study, induced births in the United States have more than tripled in recent years — from 9% of live births in 1989 to 31.37% in 2020.