The InVS reveals in its newsletter (the BEH) that the prematuritylate (at 35-36 weeks of gestation (WA)) and births at 37-38 WA which are usually considered the term of pregnancy remain dangerous for the health of babies. The normal duration of a pregnancy is 40 to 41 weeks.
Professor Catherine Quantin, head of the Biostatistics and Medical Informatics department of the Dijon University Hospital Center, analyzed the data from the national database of the PMSI (Program for the medicalization of information systems). It assessed the excess morbidity (associated diseases) and excess neonatal mortality associated with prematurity moderate (35-36 WA) and early term (37-38 WA). She also analyzed the short-term impact (less than a year) of these deliveries.
The results of the study show the more premature babies are, the more likely they are to be hospitalized. At 38 WA the children are 8.8% to have been hospitalized, against 6.4% at 39-41 WA.
“Our study confirms that being born at 35-38 WA is a risk factor for neonatal and infant mortality and morbidity in children and that, contrary to popular belief, children born at 37-38 WA are more at risk. than those born at 39-41 AG ”explains the researcher. “These findings should lead to the redefinition of what a term birth is and to a modification of the indications for induction and cesarean section scheduled at 37-38 WA”.
Children born at 35-38 WA represent about 25% of births and babies born at 39-41 WA 73% of single births.
“These quantitatively very large populations deserve special attention, because their prognosis is altered from the neonatal period and the long-term consequences remain to be clarified”, the study concludes.
Read also:
Pregnancy: update on prematurity
To avoid the risk of prematurity, wait 18 months between 2 pregnancies
Premature babies: 3,000 babies die every day worldwide
