While pregnancy is considered full-term at 40 weeks, only 5 percent of women actually give birth on their predetermined due date. That’s why most OBGYNs recommend more frequent and more vigilant monitoring after 40 weeks, and sometimes the artificial induction of labor. However, many pregnant women refuse induction due to the risk of stress to the fetus or increased likelihood of requiring a C-section.
But a new Israeli study provides evidence that the risks of not inducing labor at 42 weeks of pregnancy outweigh the risks to the baby if labor is not induced.
Conducted by Tel Aviv University researchers, the study has found that post-term deliveries, even among low-risk pregnancies, are associated with increased short-term risks to newborns, including illnesses and infections, which land them twice as frequently in Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs). The study isolates the post-term due date as a single, influential risk factor for the first time, according to the scientists.
The research was led by TAU’s Dr. Liran Hiersch and Prof. Nehama Linder, along with Dr. Nir Melamed of the Rabin Medical Center. It was recently published in the scientific journal Archives of Disease in Childhood, Fetal and Neonatal Edition.