Even two weeks early is too soon for babies
It’s natural to become anxious toward the end of your pregnancy, when you aren’t able to get comfortable enough at night to sleep, you’re tired of toting your bump and it impedes you in performing your day-to-day activities. Technology during the past 10 years has made induction of labor easier and more successful, and now, more than ever before, deliveries are planned during the last few weeks of pregnancies.
But studies are showing that a delivery even two weeks early can be associated with newborn complications. “There is still ongoing development and maturation of the fetus, even in those last few weeks,” sys Dr Celeste Durnwald, a maternal-fetal medicine specialist at Ohio State University Medical Center.
The consequences of being born early include problems such as jaundice, poor feeding, inability to sit in a car seat without breathing difficulties and, rarely, premature lungs. These situations are usually not life threatening, but can lead to increased hospital stays, admission to the neonatal intensive care unit, and days of anxiety for the new parents.
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists states that a full term pregnancy is one that has completed 39 weeks. But medical advances mean that patients and physicians often choose to deliver earlier, even around 36 weeks – a full month ahead of the mom-to-be’s due date. Nationwide, the number of deliveries in this gestational age range increased dramatically in the past decade. In 1996, 6.9% of all births occurred between the 34 and 36 weeks of pregnancy – in 2005, reports showed 8.1% of all births occurring between the 34 and 36 weeks.
Some of these early births are scheduled for good reason, in response to health concerns for a mom-to-be or her baby. “Certainly, a medical problem with the mother’s health, or suspected fetal jeopardy can sometimes necessitate a delivery earlier than otherwise anticipated,” says Dr Durnwald. “Maternal hypertension and poor fetal growth are common reasons. The rate of infant deaths and stillbirths is going down, while the rate of ‘late preterm births’ or ‘near-term births’ is going up.”
Now, obstetricians are working to slow down the rate of late preterm births or near-term births, figure out what the current criteria for preterm births are and make sure those criteria are met. “Healthcare providers and parents must weigh the risks and benefits of late preterm births, realizing there are potential complications for a newborn,” says Dr Durnwald. “Even though those last few weeks can seem like months to the patient, I try to emphasize the importance of delivering at a gestational age when the baby gets to go home with the mother and does well in the nursery.