Low birth weight linked with risk of abuse: study

LONDON (Reuters) – Premature and low birth-weight babies
seem to have a higher risk of suffering from abuse and neglect,
scientists said on Wednesday.

In a study of 120,000 children born in southeast England
from 1983-2001, researchers from the University of Warwick
found that the lower the birth weight, the more likely a child
would be placed on a protection register.

“It confirms previous work that suggests an association
between low birth weight and child abuse and neglect,” said the
university’s Professor Nick Spencer.

Children put on the protection register include those who
have been physically and/or emotionally abused or neglected and
youngsters who have not been harmed but who live in a household
with a registered sex offender.

Spencer added that the study published in the Journal of
Epidemiology and Community Health showed that the risk of abuse
is graded, so the lower the birth weight and gestation, or time
in the womb, the higher the risk.

“We are able to demonstrate that this risk falls as you get
nearer to what is called the optimum birth weight, somewhere
between 3,500-4,500 grams (7.6 to 9.8 lbs),” Spencer added in
an interview.

The researchers do not know why being born small seems to
raise the risk of being abused but Spencer said tiny babies may
be more difficult to handle and could increase parental
frustration.