Low birthweight boys lose in the survival stakes
27 October, 2000
A new study of very low birthweight babies, by US researchers, has found that male babies are more likely to require assistance directly after birth, and had a lower chance of survival than females.
The study, to be published in the November Fetal and Neonatal Edition of Archives of Disease in Childhood, focused on over 6000 babies with birthweights between 501 and 1500 grams.
The health of the babies was checked either upon discharge from the hospital or after 4 months in hospital, or at death. Information about the mother and the perinatal history of the babies was also evaluated.
The study found that 15 per cent of low birth weight girls died within the first few months of life in comparison with 22 per cent of the low birthweight boys.
The male babies were also more likely to have received resuscitation medication and assistance to breathe than the female babies and were more prone to urinary infections and brain haemorrhages.
The researchers were unable to offer an explanation as to why nature seemed to favour the females, even at the critical premature level. One theory is that it is nature’s way of compensating for the higher rate of conceptions that are male compared with those that are female.
Last Reviewed: 27 October 2000
- 1. Arch Dis Child Fetal Neonatal Ed 2000 Nov; 83 (3): F182-F185
