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Prenatal Progesterone and Educational Attainments

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2018

Katharina Dalton*
Affiliation:
Dept. of Psychological Medicine, University College Hospital, London WC1E 6AL

Summary

Children whose mothers received prenatal progesterone have been shown to be advanced in development at one year and to have greater academic achievement at 9–10 years. This study compares the educational attainments at 17–20 years of 34 progesterone children with 37 normal and 12 toxaemic controls. More progesterone children continued schooling after 16 years compared with controls; a higher proportion left school with ‘O’ level and ‘A’ level passes, the average number of passes per child was greater at both levels and more obtained a university place. The best academic results were in those whose mothers had received over 5 grams of prenatal progesterone, and for whom administration commenced before the sixteenth week and treatment lasted longer than eight weeks.

Type
Papers
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1976 

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References

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