Children born in the 41st week of pregnancy - which is considered "late-term" - have better test scores and are more likely to be classified as gifted in elementary and middle school, compared with children born "full-term," that is, at 39 or 40 weeks. The new study shows not only that children born in late term continue to have an elevated risk of health problems when school-aged, but also that they have an elevated rate of cognitive benefits. Team from Northwestern University compared test scores at ages 8 through 15 on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) for more than 320,000 children born early-term, nearly 720,000 born at full-term, and almost 120,000 born late-term. They also looked at whether the children were classified as gifted by the Florida Department of Education. All of the kids were born between 1998 and 2013. Late-term infants fared better across the board, with higher standardized test scores, a greater percentage classified as gifted, and a smaller percentage having poor cognitive outcomes, according to a report in JAMA Pediatrics. On the other hand, late-term infants were also more likely than full-term infants to have abnormal physical conditions of birth and physical disabilities at school-age. http://www.aol.com/article/2016/06/...ter-in-elementary-and-middle-school/21390326/
