Planned early birth may be harmful to babies. According to a recent study, if deliveries are planned before the end of the usual pregnancy period, it leads to more development problems babies. The baby may also have behavior and learning issues before they go to school.
When compared to babies born at a full 40-week term, babies born before 37 weeks of pregnancy are likely to have more developmental problems. While 40-week pregnancy is full term, medical science considers babies born after 37 weeks as full term. The latest study at the University of Sydney in New South Wales, Australia shows planned birth has an adverse effect on babies.
Lower gestational age is likely to represent poorer developmental outcomes anyway, but, when it comes to planned early birth, poor development is more likely. According to Jason Bentley who is the lead author of the recent study, if one has to go for planned birth, it should be at 39 weeks.
Health professionals perform planned birth typically in two ways, either through labor inductions or through surgical C-section deliveries. The study involved 5-year-old children who went through developmental assessments. Among the children, 9.6 percent suffered developmental issues at school age.
Surgical C-section deliveries or labor inductions become necessary when it is a complicated pregnancy. If the mother or the baby is at risk, doctors often perform an early delivery. Even in the case of complications, researchers suggest pushing the delivery at late as possible. If surgical C-section deliveries or labor inductions are not related to medical reasons, doctors must avoid it until the 39th or 40th week, Fox News reports.
There are various reasons why parents and doctors go for early birth. In many cases, they want to avoid the uncertainty of natural delivery that brings anxiety with it. If parents are aware of the date they are going to have a baby, they are more likely to be prepared for it.
Some of the people who believe in astrology want to have their baby delivered at a specific time on a specific date as well. According to the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology, there is an increasing trend of planned early birth. But, that does not have any direct connection with the reduction of the number of stillbirths.
