(HealthNewsDigest.com) - COLUMBUS, Ohio – Many parents become anxious
toward the end of a pregnancy, when women are sleepless, fatigued and finding it
difficult to perform their daily activities. Technology during the past 10 years
has made labor induction 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, according to Dr. Celeste Durnwald, a maternal-fetal
medicine specialist at The Ohio State University Medical Center.
“There is still ongoing development and maturation of the fetus, even in those
last few weeks,” notes Durnwald. 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. Because of the many recent medical
advances, patients and physicians are choosing to push the date of a delivery
earlier than ever before, even to 36 weeks gestation, a full month ahead of the
mother’s due date. Nationwide, the number of deliveries in this gestational age
range increased dramatically in the past decade.
In 1996, 6.9 percent of all births occurred between the 34th and 36th weeks of
gestation. In 2005, reports showed 8.1 percent of all births occurring between
the 34th and 36th weeks.
Some of these early births are scheduled for good reason, in response to health
concerns for baby or mother. “Certainly, a medical problem with the mother’s
health, or suspected fetal jeopardy can sometimes necessitate a delivery earlier
than otherwise anticipated. 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,” Durnwald
says.
Now, obstetricians are working to slow down the rate of “late preterm births” or
“near-term births”; to figure out what the current criteria for preterm births
are; and to make sure those criteria are met.
“Healthcare providers and parents must weigh the risks and benefits of the ‘late
preterm births,’ realizing there are potential complications for a newborn,”
notes 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,” says Durnwald.
Source : www.HealthNewsDigest.com
