Parental bilingualism is associated with slower cognitive development in very low birth weight infants

BackgroundSpeech development is frequently impaired in very low birth weight (VLBW) infants. Few and controversial data have been published on concepts regarding the influence of bilingual education.AimsThe objectives of the current study were to assess the influence of parental bilingualism on speech development and neurodevelopmental outcome in low risk VLBW infants.Study designMonocentric prospective controlled cohort study with standardized follow-up.SubjectsWe recruited 50 singleton VLBW infants each from monolingual and bilingual families as well as 90 term control infants. The infants were free of disease and congenital malformation.Outcome measuresGriffiths scales of infant development at the corrected ages of 6 and 12 months, Bayley Scales of Infant Development II (BSID II) with 22 months.ResultsIn general, both bilingual and monolingual VLBW infants achieved age-specific milestones at the corrected age of 6, 12 and 22 months. However, bilingual VLBW infants achieved significantly lower scores than their monolingual peers in all cognitive subscales. The influence of maternal education on the neurodevelopmental outcome of the preterm infants was not significant; the subscales' correlation with socioeconomic or biological parameters was poor. However, a clear differentiation between social status and bilingual environment importance for speech development was not possible.ConclusionsIn the setting of the present investigation, parental bilingualism is associated with slower neurodevelopment in VLBW infants during the first 2 years of life.