Study Says Birth Weight Predicts A Child's Intellect. Is This True?

Pregnancy is a journey of learning. When a couple is trying to get pregnant, they acquire knowledge from friends, family, and by reading books to prepare them for their child’s arrival. But no matter how much you prepare, some things are out of your control. As parents, that might be scary but the best thing you can do is follow your doctor’s advice and take care of your health so you are blessed with a happy and healthy baby.

Several studies have been conducted on pregnancy and the baby’s health to understand how every aspect of it plays out on the health of the mother and baby. What a baby is probably experiencing in the womb, what it means, and how it determines the health and behavior of the baby once it’s born are things that can be determined with various studies. Recently it was discovered that a child’s IQ is lesser if they had a premature birth or were born underweight (1).

In This Article

Underweight Birth: What Are The Causes?

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The average weight of a healthy baby is around 2.5 kg. Infants who are born with a weight lower than this might not necessarily be unhealthy but they could have some serious health complications. Most often, the reason for low weight birth is because the baby is born preterm. The gestation period in human beings is 40-41 weeks but when a woman goes into normal labor a little before that, it is considered as a full-term pregnancy. However, if a baby is born before 37 weeks of gestation, it’s called premature birth. When a baby is born prematurely, he/she is usually underweight because most of the weight a baby gains is during the final weeks of pregnancy (2).

Another main reason for low birth weight is caused by a condition called IUGR i.e, intrauterine growth restriction. It happens when the baby grows poorly during pregnancy and it can happen for a lot of reasons. It may be because of the baby’s health or the mother’s health. It could also be because of problems with the placenta. A baby with IUGR can either be born full-term or have a premature birth (3).

Baby’s Weight And Intellect: Are They Connected?

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Studies say that a baby’s weight at birth can help determine what their IQ levels will be. While previous studies found that there was a connection between impaired cognitive ability and low birth weight of babies, recent studies found that at the age of 2 adult IQ levels of babies could be predicted. However, in adults who were born full-term, this could not be predicted until the age of 6 (4). But what researchers found out from these studies was rather interesting.

They found that babies who were born full-term had higher IQ levels than those who were born low weight or premature. They also noticed that the children who were born underweight i.e, below 2.5 kg had a low cognitive function and high chances of being underweight as adults. They also observed that these babies stand a higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease and diabetes later in life (5).

Science says that the link between a baby born at low birth weight and their neurological development is largely unknown. However, these babies are born with an immature brain that develops under circumstances different from that of a fully-grown child born with normal birth weight. It was also seen that low birth weight babies experience lower verbal IQ, poor attention span, and lower coordination abilities as compared to those born with normal birth weight. However, to make these circumstances better, early iron supplementation seems to help provide a certain amount of protection (6).

Always consult your doctor before taking any decision regarding the health of your baby. After all, we all want a happy and healthy baby who does not face complications in their life even as adults.

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