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Very Low Birth Weight Infants-Educational Outcome at School Age from Parental Questionnaire

Professor of Clinical Pediatrics, University of Cincinnati, Children's Hospital Medical Center, Elland & Bethesda Avenues, Cincinnati, Ohio

Kathy E. Wedig, MD

Associate Professor of Clinical Pediatrics, University of Cincinnati, Good Samaritan Hospital, Cincinnati, Ohio

Educational outcome of former very low birth weight infants, 1250 g., were obtained by a questionnaire mailed to the families' last known address. Fifty-seven infants were known to have survived the first year of life and an address was available for 49 families, 51 infants (two sets of twins). Forty families (82%) responded regarding 42 of the 57 infants (74%). Only one child had a major health problem, cerebral palsy and epilepsy. All the children were in school. Thirty-nine (93%) were in a regular class and three (7%) were in special classes. Twenty-six children (67%) in a regular class did not require special educational assistance, 13 (33%) did. Using the Hollingshead Four Factor Index, socioeconomic status affected outcome P=0.0068 (Fischer's exact test). There were 20 children in Classes I-III, upper socioeconomic and three children Class IV-V, lower socioeconomic, requiring no special education and six children in Class I-III and eight children in Class IV-V requiring special education. The neonatal risk factors birth weight, gestational age, appropriateness of weight for gestation, Apgar score, time to regain birth weight, and time on mechanical ventilation did not affect outcome. The only neonatal risk which was significantly different between the respondents and non-respondents was birth weight, P<0.020 for the children in a regular class without assistance and P<0.005 for children in a regular class with assistance. Overall, 40 percent of the children had repeated a grade. It is suggested that such a high risk group should be tested prior to school entry in order to reduce the chance of school failure.

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