"A study in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology in October calculated that for each week a baby stayed in the womb between 32 and 39 weeks, there is a 23% decrease in problems such as respiratory distress, jaundice, seizures, temperature instability and brain hemorrhages...
...What's more, experts warn that a fetus's estimated age may be off by as much as two weeks either way, meaning that a baby thought to be 36 weeks along might be only 34.
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the March of Dimes are now urging obstetricians not to deliver babies before 39 weeks unless there is a medical reason to do so."
Rest of the Wall Street Journal article here.
I would just add that a baby thought to be 39 weeks could be 37, just as the 36/34 example in the article. That would mean that when it was supposedly safe to schedule an induction/c-section, for example, you would be risking an over 40% significant increase in respiratory distress, jaundice, seizures, etc.
There is a reason to wait for the beginning of labor on its own, whether at 40 weeks, 41, or 42! Finally, medical research is catching up with common sense... ;-)
1 comment:
It is a an informative idea and a a knowledgeable information that we must know especially when we are pregnant and our partner.
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