Knowing When to Deliver

If your pregnancy is healthy, the best thing you can do for your baby is to wait for labor to begin on its own.

Waiting until 39 weeks provides the optimum time for development of your newborn.

Complications with Babies Born Too Soon

Evidence shows some of the most important organs grow significant amounts in the last few weeks of a pregnancy.

A baby’s brain at 35 weeks weighs only two-thirds of what it will weigh at 39 to 40 weeks. The lungs and liver are also in their final stages of development.

The need for intensive care in babies with respiratory problems can be twice as high at 38 weeks.

Unfortunately, the complications of inducing labor early can have long-lasting effects on your child. They may have behavioral problems and develop slower compared to other children.

If parents are able to wait at least 39 weeks, they reduce the time their baby is in the hospital, the number of doctor visits, their stress and the stress on the baby.

Exceptions

Some moms have medical reasons to induce labor before they reach full term. Expecting mothers who have diabetes, hypertension, or other conditions, sometimes have to give birth before 39 weeks.

Under these conditions, doctors have medical concerns and need to induce an early labor for the safety of the mother and the baby.

The best thing you can do for your unborn baby is talk to your doctor to discuss the delivery process and when it is acceptable for you to give birth.