Influence of birth weight on educational outcomes at age 9: the Miami site of the Infant Health and Development Program.

The Miami site of the Infant Health and Development Program, an early intervention for infants born low birth weight (LBW) and preterm, was investigated. Analyses unique to this sample were required because it was the only site that selected a normal birth weight (NBW) comparison group and had the lowest sociodemographic characteristics. Epidemiological methods determined the effects of LBW and early intervention on school outcomes. Children born LBW who did not receive intervention had an increased risk of scoring below the 10th percentile on achievement tests and were placed in special education three times more often than their peers born NBW. The school outcomes of children born LBW who received intervention were consistently better than those who did not, but were worse than children born NBW; however, differences did not reach statistical significance. Children born LBW who did not receive intervention are at significant risk for poor school outcomes compared with their peers born NBW.