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Maternal employment and socio‐economic status of families raising children born very preterm with motor or cognitive impairments: the EPIPAGE cohort study
Author(s) -
SaurelCubizolles MarieJosephe,
MarchandMartin Laetitia,
Pierrat Veronique,
Arnaud Catherine,
Burguet Antoine,
Fresson Jeanne,
Marret Stephane,
Roze JeanChristophe,
Cambonie Gilles,
Matis Jacqueline,
Kaminski Monique,
Ancel PierreYves
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
developmental medicine and child neurology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.658
H-Index - 143
eISSN - 1469-8749
pISSN - 0012-1622
DOI - 10.1111/dmcn.14587
Subject(s) - cognition , cohort , pediatrics , cohort study , gross motor skill , medicine , motor skill , cognitive skill , psychology , developmental psychology , psychiatry , pathology
Aim To describe maternal employment and the socio‐economic status of the household up to 8 years after the very preterm birth of a child, according to the presence and type of motor or cognitive impairment. Method A total of 1885 families from the French EPIPAGE cohort of children who were born very preterm between 1997 and 1998 were included. Motor and cognitive impairments were identified in children between the ages of 2 and 8 years in 770 families and were classified according to type. The 1115 families with children born very preterm without these impairments were considered the reference group. Results Mothers of children with severe motor or cognitive impairments were less often working at 5 years after the birth than the reference mothers (21% and 30% vs 57%; p <0.001). Those working before birth returned to work less often and those not working started to work less often after the birth than did reference mothers. At 8 years, mothers of children with severe impairments reported financial difficulties more often than mothers of children without impairments. Interpretation Despite a fairly protective regulatory framework in France, families of infants born very preterm with severe motor or cognitive impairments are socially underprivileged. Measures to maintain an acceptable standard of living for these families and their children are needed.