NURSEWEEK: Parents skeptical of vaccines

Home births linked to low intellegence

Wire Services
November 1, 2000


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New York. A study in the November issue of Epidemiology suggests that babies born at home rather than in a hospital tend to have lower IQs.

Possible reasons include the fact that a baby may not get enough oxygen during labor, which may affect a child’s later mental development, according to the Danish researchers who conducted the study.

The study is based on a survey of 4,000 Danish men, and indicates that average IQ at age 18 was highest in men born in birth clinics and lowest in those delivered at home.

However, the findings are not the final word on home deliveries. The researchers did not take into account the mother’s health, such as determining if she smoked or drank during pregnancy.

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