June 30, 2006, Newsletter Issue #195: Donīt rush it!
Tip of the Week
Babies born even just a few weeks prematurely run a significantly higher risk of death in their first year, suggesting that inducing early labor is more dangerous than many obstetricians might think.
Over the past decade, doctors have begun using drugs more and more to induce labor a few weeks early for reasons of convenience rather than the health of the mother or child.
Based on an examination of 4.5 million births in the United States and Canada in the 1990s, researchers found that compared with U.S. babies born full-term in 1995, those born at 32 weeks to 33 weeks were about six times more likely to die within their first year. Babies born closer to term but still early - at 34 through 36 weeks - were nearly three times more likely to die than full-term infants.
The causes of death included infection, breathing problems, various birth defects and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.
The advent of medical treatment for inadequately functioning lungs - a common complication in premature infants - has created the misperception that labor can be induced early with few risks.
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