[Source:  Science Daily]

There’s some good news for parents of preterm babies — latest research from the University of Adelaide shows that by the time they become teenagers, the brains of many preterm children can perform almost as well as those born at term.

A study conducted by the University’s Robinson Research Institute has found that as long as the preterm child experiences no brain injury in early life, their cognitive abilities as a teenager can potentially be as good as their term-born peers.

However, the results of the study, published in this month’s issue of The Journal of Pediatrics, also highlight that the quality of the home environment at the time of the child’s birth plays an important role in their cognition later in life.

“Every year, 10% of Australian babies are born preterm, and many studies have shown that these children often have cognitive difficulties in childhood,” says one of the lead authors of the study, Dr Julia Pitcher from the University of Adelaide’s Robinson Research Institute.

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