It is said that you have a full term pregnancy in case the baby is born after the 41st week but it seems like there is some new information on the matter. It has been shown that the babies born between the weeks 37 and 39 are in greater danger than those born after the 39th week.
Information on pregnancy that is full term
It is true that if the baby gets born before the 40th week, the dangers increase, but these decrease with each week that the little one spends in the womb. In normal cases, the babies shouldn’t be born before the 39th week, but labor isn’t stopped if you reach the 37th week of pregnancy.
Infant mortality and overall risk
When it comes to pregnancy that is full term you should know that the rate of newborn death is quite low, but the risk in case of babies born before the 37th week is double compared to the risks of the babies born after the 40th week.
If you don’t have a full term pregnancy, you shouldn’t pressure your doctor to deliver. Although the 37th week seems to be the magical one, you don’t have to think that there is anything special about it.
The pregnancy that is full term gets a new definition
According to the specialists there are two distinct categories when it comes to full term. Full term refers to the babies that are born between weeks 37 and 41, meaning a period of time. It is said that the babies born in this period are different from the babies born in another period.
Regarding full term pregnancy, there is another category of doctors, and women who choose to deliver earlier because it is more convenient this way or because of some tests that haven’t been proven to be truly helpful. This is also caused by the fact that the last few hours of pregnancy aren’t really pleasant.
When people are thinking about pregnancy that is full term they have an old definition in mind based on statistics created many years ago regarding how babies were doing back then. The truth is that there isn’t such a dramatic change in risks between weeks 37 and 39. Still there is no need to unnecessarily speed up the process.
Nonetheless regarding full term pregnancy you should know that elective deliveries before the 39th week do have slightly increased risks of morbidity. These risks are also influenced by some other factors, such as the reason of the early delivery and the type of delivery used.
Due date
When thinking about pregnancy that is full term, one of the most important things that you have to know is the due date. This is calculated by the doctor based on the date of your last period. Even though this gives you an idea on the due date, this doesn’t mean that the baby will be born on that exact day.
Regarding full term pregnancy you should know that there is no way to know when the baby will be born, except if you have a scheduled C section on a schedule delivery. The due date is a period of time starting with the 37th week and the date that has been determined by the doctor.
If you have a pregnancy that is full term it means that the baby will be able to survive on its own outside the womb of the mother. All the body parts of the little one have developed and he or she has the right weight and height.
You can see that there is a lot to know about full term pregnancy.
