EARLY TERM DELIVERY AT 37 WEEKS GESTATION – WHAT ARE THE RISKS?
Abstract:
Early term birth - compared to term delivery - is associated with increased rate of perinatal
complications. The authors evaluated the short term prognosis of infants delivered at 37 weeks gestation
compared to term neonates using a retrospective case control study, controlling also the birth weight. SPSS
10.0 for Windows was used for statistical analysis. The study included 343 delivered at 37 weeks gestation
and 343 term infants. Early term infants had lower Apgar scores at 1 and 5 minutes (p=0.000, p=0.006),
increased rates of respiratory distress (9.9% vs. 0%, OR 2.11[CI 1.94-2.39]), persistent pulmonary
hypertension (23.7% vs. 4%, p=0.003, OR 7.45[CI1.64-23.72]), jaundice (47.5% vs. 22.2%, p=0.000, OR
3.18[CI2.28-4.43]), anemia (30.7% vs. 15.9%, p=0.014, OR 2.34[CI1.17-4.70], and neonatal intensive care
unit admission (10.5% vs. 1.2%, p=0.000, OR 9.94[CI3.49-28.24]). An analysis of the epidemiology of early
term birth is mandatory in order to decrease their rate and better neonatal prognosis.
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