World Prematurity Day, 2012
November 17, 2012 is World Prematurity Day ! Prematurity, or preterm birth, refers to live births that occur before 37 weeks gestational age. The following are categories defined by how many weeks gestation were completed before the birth: extremely preterm (under 28 weeks gestation) very preterm (28 to 32 weeks gestation) moderate to late preterm (32 to under 37 weeks gestation) A pregnancy is considered full-term at 39 weeks and as such I think these definitions need some adjusting, but March of Dimes, WHO, ACOG and many others agree that an induction or caesarean birth should not be planned before 39 completed weeks unless there is a TRUE medical indication. However, if your pregnancy is healthy, it is best if your baby is born at 40 weeks or later! (watch for a future post on this!) Preterm birth can lead to a variety of complications and the earlier the baby is born, the more severe the health challenges they will face. More infants die from preterm rel...