Issue link: https://cp.revolio.com/i/139497
Dr. Kristen Garcia with North Suburban Medical Center counsels her pregnant patients on the importance of not rushing babies' births. Worth the Wait Babies Born Before 39 Weeks Can Face Problems Dr. Kristen Garcia has heard it all: Grandma's coming to town. Dad's going on a business trip. I really need the tax write-off. Although pleas for early deliveries are a common part of office visits, mostly from women simply tired of being pregnant, no amount of begging will sway the obstetrician. "Although I can sympathize with them, I don't do elective deliveries before 39 weeks unless there's a maternal or fetal complication," says Garcia, an OB/GYN with North Suburban Medical Center. The reason: The repercussions for baby can be severe, from urgent respiratory problems because of immature lungs, to long-term learning troubles because of underdeveloped brains. Dubbed "designer births" or "social deliveries," these elective births were once more common, when doctors thought, and literature claimed, vital fetal development was complete by week 37. Sometimes doctors would even schedule births for their own convenience, or to fulfill a promise of personally delivering a patient's baby. Dr. Jeff Hanson, a Neonatal Intensive Care (NICU) specialist at Rocky Mountain Hospital for Children at 28 by Debra Melani Presbyterian/St. Luke's Medical Center, remembers the days of "designer" births too well. "The baby would be immature and end up in the intensive care nursery and requiring support with a mechanical ventilator. Not only is it expensive, but there are risks," says Hanson, adding that those who deal with babies fighting for their lives every day have no tolerance for the issue. "Don't fool with Mother Nature. There's nothing better than the human uterus for a fetal-growth environment." And now doctors know waiting until 39 weeks can make the difference between a happy, normal homecoming and a stressful hospital stay, prompting polices rejecting early elective births, including at HealthONE, and a large-scale educational campaign by the March of Dimes. "We hate to see babies that are separated from their parents," says Dr. Joe Toney, NICU director at Sky Ridge Medical Center, who emphasizes that not all babies born at 37 to 38 weeks will need support. Natural labor at 37 weeks or labor induced because of medical issues are appropriate reasons for early deliveries, he says. "There