Children born of an unplanned pregnancy may lag behind in cognitive development, while those born of fertility treatments surge ahead, according to a new study published in the British Medical Journal.
The researchers looked at almost 12,000 children born between 2000 and 2002 who had been part of the U.K.’s massive Millennium Cohort Study. The mothers were surveyed about whether the pregnancy was unintentional or the result of fertility treatments, while the children’s verbal, non-verbal and spatial skills were assessed at three and five years of age.
When it came to cognitive development, the study found that the children who had been born of accidental pregnancy tended to lag four to five months behind their peers, while those who were the result of fertility treatments were three to four months ahead of those conceived without medical intervention.
Once the researchers adjusted for socioeconomic factors, however, the differences became insignificant, "providing further evidence of the influence of socioeconomic inequalities on the lives of children in the U.K." explained the study authors.
They recommend that policy makers should continue to target social inequalities to help impoverished children reach their full potential.
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