Effects of High Birth Weight on the Development of Preschoolers

Abstract

A high birth weight above 4,000 g may lead to risks in the development of affected children. The association is less studied than the effects of very low birth weight and is the subject of this study. The retrospective study design used data from school entry surveys in Schleswig-Holstein (Germany) collected in 2014-2017 and included 88,858 children aged 5-6 years. End points examined were language, motor skills, cognition, and behavior; use of support measures; and recommendation for special educational needs. Logistic regression models were used to estimate the association between birth weight and the outcome measures, adjusting for sociodemographic factors. After accounting for sociodemographic factors, high birth weight is not associated with impaired child development, whereas low birth weight emerges as a significant predictor. Across all birth weights, sociodemographic factors explain most of the variance in multivariate models of the influence of birth weight on child development. Very high birth weight does not justify a general recommendation for support measures. Therefore, individual developmental trajectories should be monitored. Growing up in disadvantaged circumstances may represent a significant risk and should be a reason for early intervention.