Study Finds That Choosing to Induce Labor at 39 Weeks Might Help Avoid C – Section

Orange County, CA - August 10th, 2018 -  A remarkable new study finds healthy first-time moms may be able to shorten their pregnancy to avoid complications. The study suggests inducing labor at 39 weeks resulted in lower rates of cesarean sections; compared to waiting for labor to begin naturally at full term. In the United States C-sections account for 32 percent of all births, this is well above the “medically necessary” target of 10 to 15 percent. Many expectant women are left wondering how they can avoid this unnecessary surgery.

The large study was funded by the National Institutes of Health, and published in The New England Journal of Medicine. The discovery reverses the commonly held belief that induction may increase the chance of delivering by C-section; researchers found it lowered this risk by 14 percent. It was conducted as a randomized, controlled trial that enrolled more than 6,000 pregnant women across 41 U.S. hospitals participating in the NICHD-supported Maternal-Fetal Medicine Units Network.

“What this study does is it helps us to offer more options to help moms and dads to get to the place where they want to be. So if they really want to be induced because they're uncomfortable or anxious about complications, and they really want to maximize their chances of vaginal birth, that's great. If they have no interest in being induced then they don't have to be because the risks are still really low," said study author Dr. Robert Silver, chairman of the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology at the University of Utah Health and a maternal-fetal medicine physician at Intermountain Healthcare in Salt Lake City.

The researchers compared the births of women who were all first-time mothers to be, who had low-risk pregnancies. Mothers were divided into two groups; one group of 3,062 that would be induced at 39 weeks and 3,044 were in an expectant-management group that would wait until spontaneous labor. Researchers found that fewer women, 18.6 percent underwent C-section deliveries in the induction group, compared to the 22.2% in the expectant management group. Researchers found that women in the induction group spent more time in the labor and delivery unit, but the length of their postpartum hospital stay was shorter.

Study Finds That Choosing to Induce Labor at 39 Weeks Might Help Avoid C – Section

The study however, had some limitations which included the mothers knowing which group they were assigned to in the study. Since it only involved low-risk, first-time pregnancies, more research will be required to determine how this discovery would change among higher risk pregnancies. “The truth is we haven't done cost analysis yet, and we're currently working on that,” Dr. Silver said. “We have the data collected from this study, but we haven't done the analyses and so we look forward to that as being an important part of this equation.”

Prior research showed that inducing labor without medical reason before pregnancies are full-term at 39 weeks poses health risks for newborns, primarily because the lungs, brain, and other organs haven't fully developed. However, inductions at 39 weeks have become more common in recent years, and the study's authors wanted to better understand the risks and benefits to both mother and baby. This study simply suggests that induction can be an option, while the ultimate birthing decision remains with the family.

Contact Ampronix:

Ampronix Medical Blog - Ampronix News

Email: info@ampronix.com 

International Sales: +1 949-273-8000

Domestic Sales: 1800-400-7972 for US and Canada

Follow Us:

FacebookTwitterLinkedIn

Share This Article:

TwitterFacebookLinkedIn

View our Product Catalog Online Here

 

About Ampronix

Ampronix is a renowned authorized master distributor of the medical industry's top brands as well as a world-class manufacturer of innovative technology. Since 1982, Ampronix has been dedicated to meeting the growing needs of the medical community with its extensive product knowledge, outstanding service, and state-of-the-art repair facility. Ampronix prides itself on its ability to offer tailored, one-stop solutions at a faster and more cost-effective rate than other manufacturers. Ampronix is an ISO & ANSI/ESD certified facility. To learn more go here.

Study Finds That Choosing to Induce Labor at 39 Weeks Might Help Avoid C – Section Orange County, CA – August 10th, 2018 –  A remarkable new study finds healthy first-time moms may be able to shorten their pregnancy to avoid complications. The study suggests inducing labor at 39 weeks resulted in lower rates of cesarean sections; […]