For a very large baby, initiate birth sooner

In the birth of very large babies threaten both the mother and the child serious injuries. A new study suggests that early labor induction can reduce such risks.

At birth there are serious injuries
With the birth of very large babies the child and the mother are in danger of serious injuries. As news agency APA reports, a new study suggests that induction of labor at 37-38 weeks reduces these risks. Researchers led by Michel Boulvain from the University and University Hospitals in Geneva and French and Belgian colleagues have divided more than 800 pregnant women into two groups. According to a statement from the University of Geneva, women carried extremely large babies - more than 95 percent of all babies born.

Babies can get stuck during birth
It is reported that especially tall babies can become stuck during birth after the head is already out, which is called shoulder dystocia. This may lead to clavicle fractures, paralysis, hypoxia, brain damage and even death. In addition, in large babies also painful cracks of the vaginal wall (dam tears) are more common in the mother. In some cases, it may also be that the child no longer fits in the pelvis and must be brought by caesarean section.

Caesarean rate was not affected
The doctors started the birth in one half of the pregnant women at an early age, in the other they waited for the spontaneous birth. The babies of the first group weighed an average of 3.8 kilograms at birth, those of the second 4.1 kilograms. In the first group, according to the scientists, there were eight shoulder dystocias and their consequences, and in the second group there were no paraplegia, cerebral hemorrhages or deaths. Although the initiation did not affect caesarean section, it did increase the chances of natural delivery.

Early induction of labor reduces risks
According to the researchers, the complication rate was the same in both groups, only neonatal jaundice was somewhat more common in the newly introduced babies. The doctors came to the conclusion that early labor induction in such large babies significantly reduces the risk of dangerous shoulder dystocia and its sequelae. This finding is likely to be important for more and more women in Germany. According to statistics, the number of overweight newborns in this country is rising. As a cause experts see the fact that women get their children now and later. In older women, metabolic disorders and obesity are increasingly transmitted to the baby. Another reason is that pregnant women today are increasing significantly more than previous generations. (Ad)

Picture credits: Katrin Schindler 

/ Span>