Investigators: Cate Taylor, Gursimran Dhamrait, Hayley Christian, Melissa O'Donnell
External collaborators: Gavin Pereira (Curtin University of Technology)
A child’s developmental accomplishments in the first five years of life are remarkable. In Australia, children start full-time school at age five. The extent to which children are ready for school depends on the quality of their early environments and experiences, starting in pregnancy. This project will investigate the effects of the time interval between pregnancies (interpregnancy interval), family size and other sociodemographic factors on child development outcomes at age five. The outcomes will help guide health and education policies that aim to give all children the best start in life.