Literature review for - Flourish Paediatrics

the prenatal period and extending throughout the early childhood years’. In short, what
happens to children at the earliest age has direct, identifiable outcomes in areas such as their
health, life expectancy, the extent to which they rely on the economic and social support of
the community and their capacity to contribute productively to their society. Children with
poorer health do significantly less well in school, complete fewer years of education, and
have significantly poorer health as well as lower earnings as adults. Investments in children’s
health make significant differences not only to their health outcomes but also to a broad range
of social, demographic and economic factors. There is strong evidence to show that
investments that improve children’s health lead to higher cognitive development and school
attainment, increased propensity for parents to invest in children, reduced cost of medical
care and increased participation of parents in the labour market; all of which are associated
with improved economic performance and stronger economic growth as well as reduced
inequality in societies studied. ‘…from conception, the early years of a child’s life influence
health outcomes and life opportunities; an equitable start for all Australian children offers
the best life chances for health and wellbeing in later years’ (Quote from submission)
The literature shows that ‘making greater investment in children’s health results in better
educated and more productive adults, sets in motion favourable demographic changes, and
shows that safeguarding health during childhood is more important than at any other age
because poor health during children’s early years is likely to permanently impaired them
over the course of their life’. The significance of these findings is reinforced by
epidemiological evidence that adult disease can be linked to factors as early in the life course
as foetal nutrition. Babies born with low birth weight, especially small for gestation age, are
at increased risk of hypertension, dyslipidaemia, insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, ischemic
heart disease and breast or prostate cancer in adult life. The impact of poor nutrition during
pregnancy (as indicated by low birth weight) can be compounded by ongoing poor nutrition
and poor early childhood circumstances. Studies have found that poor early childhood
circumstances, including low income and family discord, interfere with healthy development
and lead to increased risks of onset of asthma, hypertension, diabetes, coronary heart disease
and stroke or heart attack in adults, as well as significantly increased risk of poor mental
health. This same combination of conditions interferes with cognitive development and health
capital in childhood, reduces educational attainment, and leads to worse labour market and
health outcomes in adulthood. While it is true that Australia, like the United Kingdom and
the United States, is a wealthy country with generally good social services, recent UNICEF
601