'Full-Term' Pregnancy Now Considered Two Weeks Later, 37 Weeks is Too Early

"Full term" pregnancy has usually been attributed to pregnant women who have reached the 37 week threshold. Now the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) announced Wednesday "full term" birth will Currently "full term" is when the baby is born between weeks 37 and 42 of the pregnancy. Now "full term" should be considered to be between 39 weeks and 40 weeks six days.

Meanwhile, babies who are born between 37 weeks and 38 weeks six days should be considered "early term" and those born in the 41st week of pregnancy should be seen as 'late term' and those born after 42 weeks should be seen as "post term".

There has been increased evidence which suggest babies born between 37 and 38 weeks do worse than babies born at 39 or 40 weeks. One very recent paper shows babies at 37 to 38 weeks are more likely than those born later to need time in the NICU, mechanical ventilation and IV fluids.

In recent years, doctors' groups and parenting organisations have stressed that elective deliveries - inductions and C-sections scheduled without a medical reason - should not happen before the 39th week of pregnancy.

'Weeks matter,' said Dr Jeffrey Ecker of Massachusetts General Hospital, who chaired the ACOG committee that came up with the more specific labels.

Previous guidelines "was based on the general observation that babies born after 37 weeks tended to do quite well," Ecker says. That's still true, he says, but doctors know now that babies born at 39 and 40 weeks do better and that risks rise again after 41 weeks.

Language and labels matter," he says, and the changes will help doctors better communicate the latest science to patients.