One more reason not to induce

From the New York Times:

Babies born six weeks prematurely are 40 times as likely as full-term infants to suffer respiratory distress syndrome, a new study reports.

Ten percent of the premature infants experienced the syndrome, the study found, compared with less than half of 1 percent of full-term babies.

In respiratory distress syndrome, the tiny air sacs of the infant’s lungs do not fully open because of a lack of surface lubricant, making breathing difficult. It is one of the most common complications of late preterm deliveries, defined as those that take place after 34 weeks and before 37 weeks of gestation.

The risk of respiratory problems decreased with each additional week of pregnancy, the researchers also found.

Babies born after 36 weeks were only nine times as likely as full-term babies to develop the syndrome, while those born at 37 weeks were at three times the risk. The study, published in The Journal of the American Medical Association last week, is one of the largest and most current to examine respiratory problems associated with late preterm births.

“The pulmonary system is the last system to develop in the fetus,” said Dr. Judith U. Hibbard of the University of Illinois and the paper’s lead author. “Obstetricians need to make every effort not to deliver a baby until 39 weeks unless there is a good medical reason.”