BABIES born early by elective caesarean section are at risk of obesity and diabetes later in life, according to research.
The study shows babies delivered just two weeks early are more likely to develop diabetes and become obese when they grow up.
It also means they are at greater risk of dying before their time because of other illnesses triggered by the conditions, the research suggests.
Scientists also warned elective caesarean sections carried out before term may endanger children.
The health prospects of slightly premature infants, born at 37 to 38 weeks, have traditionally been regarded as similar to those arriving on time. But the latest findings, based on a study of 225,000 children and published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, add to growing evidence this is not the case.
They are more prone to problems with the metabolic and hormona systems that can lead to diabetes and other illnesses.
Professor Eyal Sheiner, of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Israel, said: “We found hospitalisations up to the age of 18 involving endocrine and metabolic morbidity were found to be more common in the early-term group.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here