Inducing Pregnancy at 37 weeks can reduce risks of child death or developing serious health condition

Inducing pregnant women once they reach 37 weeks can lower the chance of the baby dying or developing a serious health condition, a study has suggested.

 

The research, which analyzed 770,926 births over a 13-year period, found the risk of neo-natal death went down from 1.9 to one per 1,000 births from 2000 to 2012.

 

There was a drop in the rate of cerebral palsy by 26 per cent between 2002 and 2010, according to the study of Danish babies. A quarter of women in Denmark pregnant beyond 37 weeks have labor induced. There was a simultaneous halving of stillbirths, a separate study found.

 

Risk factors such as smoking, increased maternal age and first-time motherhood were all taken into account. It found the risk of asphyxia decreased by 23 per cent from 2003 to 2012.

 

Large, or macrosomic, babies weighing more than 9 pounds 15 ounces at birth, dropped by a third while injuries to the peripheral nerve, which link the brain and spinal cord to the other parts of the body, fell by 43 per cent.  

 

But the study also found that the risk of the baby's shoulder getting stuck during delivery, called shoulder dystocia, went up by nearly a third. 

 

Current guidelines stating that uncomplicated pregnancies should be induced in weeks 41 to 42.  

 

Professor Ojvind Lidegaard, from the University of Copenhagen and co-author of the study, said: 'We have seen significant reductions in newborn asphyxia, neonatal mortality, macrosomia and peripheral nerve injuries. 

 

'Another similar study we conducted recently also demonstrated a halving of stillbirths following the implementation of proactive labour induction practice.

 

'Our results therefore suggest an overall improvement in perinatal outcomes following a national change towards a proactive management of post-term pregnancy through labour induction.'

 

The findings are published in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology.

 

Its editor-in-chief, John Thorp, warned the findings required further scrutiny before being implemented elsewhere.

 

'Labour induction is a simple intervention, but demands a closer surveillance during labour and hospital settings must be able to support such changes,' he said.

Source: Daily Mailonline