According to a new research study, babies who were born just a few weeks early face a higher risk of having poor health in their childhood compared to those who were born after full term.

Researchers in the UK recorded data of more than 14,000 children, who were born a decade ago, for the age of five. They recorded health outcomes including admissions to hospital and having illnesses among the children. About 125,000 babies a year are born a few weeks earlier in England alone.

They found that children who were born after 37 weeks had similar long-term health outcomes to those born after their full term. The researchers said that the babies who were born before 39 weeks had higher risk of health problems till the age of five.

The research found that about 15% of the children who were born after full term had asthma or wheezing in young age compared to 17% for those born just a few weeks earlier. The babies born earlier were also found to be more likely to go to hospital more than others.

Dr Elaine Boyle, from the University of Leicester said, "We've found that it's no longer appropriate, as we have done previously, to think of babies as either being born at term or premature."

The study has been published in the British Medical Journal.