Risks of respiratory illness Increase with Late Preterm Births

By April Clarkson, April 18th, 2013 | Health | 0 Comments

A study preformed by the University of Illinois at Chicago found that babies that were born between thirty-four and thirty-seven weeks were more likely to have respiratory illness than babies who were born full term.

Babies were three times more likely to have respiratory distress syndrome when born at thirty-seven weeks than babies born at thirty-nine or forty weeks, according to UIC professor of obstetrics and gynecology Dr. Judith Hibbard who is from the he Consortium on Safe Labor. Electronic medical records helped retrieve the data on over 233,000 deliveries across the United States in nineteen different hospitals between 2002 and 2008.

Hibbard also said that respiratory illnesses such as RDS, pneumonia and respiratory failure often leads to many other problems including a much longer time in the hospital and the need for use of a ventilator and antibiotics.

It can also lead to feeding problems and problems with weight gain. The most common respiratory illness is RDS. RDS occurs in about eleven per cent of thirty-four week deliveries. In a forty week delivery about zero point three per cent had RDS. The second most common respiratory illness is Transient tachypnea, which is often referred to as “wet lungs”.

Transient tachypnea occurs approximately in six and a half per cent of thirty-four week deliveries and decreases zero point three per cent at thirty-nine weeks. Researchers examined infant respiratory illnesses at each gestational week, using a statistical model, looking for factors that may influence respiratory outcomes including the length of labor and birth weight.

The study found that nine per cent of all deliveries were preterm births.

The study also found that thirty-seven of late term births were admitted to the intensive care unit compared with only seven per cent of term births.

Hibbard said that the OB profession needs to talk to their patients about asking for procedures that are not medically necessary.