How Does Birth Weight Affect the Development of Preschool Children? A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Child development needs to regularly monitored to know that children are developing according to their age stage. A history of low birth weight (LBW) can increase the risk of impaired child development, but it is worth noting that child development is determined by many factors, one of which is the environment. This study aimed to examine the relationship between history of LBW and the development of preschool age children (aged 3-5 years). This was a descriptive correlation study with a cross-sectional design. 80 children of the total 100 population were involved, which consisted of preschool children in a rural village in Indonesia. There were 29 children (36.3%) with a history of LBW who were at an appropriate developmental stage, and nine children (11.3%) were at a doubtful developmental stage. There were 31 children (38.8%) who did not have a history of LBW who were at an appropriate developmental stage and 11 (13.8%) who were at a doubtful developmental stage. The p-value obtained was 0.779. Therefore, there was no relationship between a history of LBW and the development of preschool age children (aged 3-5 years). A higher proportion of children with a history of normal birth were at a doubtful developmental stage than of those with a history of LBW. In addition, we found that the majority of boys aged four years required strong stimulation in gross motor skill development. Developmental optimization through play stimulation should be done in all areas of child development regardless of birth weight history.
 Keywords: birth weight history, child development, preschool age