Children born to mentally retarded women: a 1-21 year follow-up study of 41 cases.

Fifteen mentally retarded Swedish women, judged to be a representative sample, gave birth to 41 children. These children were followed up at the age of 1-21 years with regard to registrations in the Social Register, the Board for Provisions and Services to the Mentally Retarded and the files of the Child and Youth Psychiatric Departments. One child had died, and of the remaining 40 85% had or had exhibited severe psychosocial problems according to register data. The implications of the findings are discussed.