People often use \”ten months of pregnancy, premature birth\” and \”the time is right\” to describe childbirth after the pregnancy is over. Therefore, some women are unwilling to induce labor at that time and must wait for natural delivery. Among women who give birth naturally, only about 5% give birth on the expected date of delivery, and about 85% give birth within two weeks before and after the expected date of delivery, which is within the normal range.
There are also about 10% of pregnant women who give birth during the 42nd week of pregnancy, which is called \”post-term pregnancy\”. Expired pregnancy is not within the normal range. Its harm is that it will have adverse effects on the fetus and baby, and it belongs to the category of high-risk pregnancy.
So, what possible harms will an expired pregnancy bring to the fetus? Currently, the following two hazards are considered.
1. The placenta of expired pregnancy often undergoes degenerative changes, commonly known as placental aging, which manifests as placental blood vessel infarction, blockage or blockage, resulting in reduced placental blood flow and inability to supply blood oxygen and nutrients necessary for fetal growth and development. Reduced, causing fetal malnutrition and intrauterine hypoxia. If the placental function further declines and postpartum uterine contractions are strong, it will cause obvious fetal hypoxia, intrauterine distress, and even serious consequences of stillbirth.
Fortunately, expired fetuses survive and are often thin and small, lacking subcutaneous fat, with dry and wrinkled skin, like a \”little old man\”, which is medically called \”overmature baby\”. Overmature babies are not only stunted but also prone to complications such as neonatal dehydration, hypovolemia, hypoglycemia, and metabolic acidosis. After birth, the incidence of neonatal asphyxia is also very high, which can be 24 times that of full-term pregnancy. The perinatal mortality rate also increases significantly, which is 14 times that of full-term pregnancy.
Secondly, if the placenta of an expired pregnancy does not age and the placenta functions normally, the fetus may be overweight at birth or even become a macrosomia, and shoulder dystocia may occur during delivery. Secondly, postterm pregnancy can lead to calcification and hardening of the fetal skull, which can easily cause intracranial hemorrhage and other complications during delivery, seriously threatening the health and life of the newborn.
The cause of postterm pregnancy is still unclear, but it may be related to factors such as abnormal endocrine function in pregnant women, abnormal fetal development, cephalopelvic disproportion, etc. However, due to unknown specific reasons, the occurrence of postterm pregnancy cannot be avoided.
Since the occurrence of expired pregnancy cannot be avoided, and the adverse consequences of expired pregnancy must be avoided, medical experts advocate \”picking fruits when they are ripe\”. All pregnant women at 41 weeks of gestation should be hospitalized promptly for induction of labor to terminate the pregnancy. Because the fetus at 41 weeks of pregnancy is already mature, the newborn born at this time should be a mature baby. Since the newborn\’s weight is moderate and the skull is not hard, the possibility of birth injuries such as shoulder dystocia and intracranial hemorrhage during delivery is very small and is relatively safe.
Expectant mothers, for the health and safety of your child, do not stick to the old idea of \”it doesn\’t matter\” and give birth before 42 weeks of pregnancy. Only in this way can your baby be healthy and safe.