Complications of term pregnancies beyond 37 weeks of gestation.
OBJECTIVE
To estimate when rates of pregnancy complications increase beyond 37 weeks of gestation.


METHODS
We designed a retrospective, cohort study of all women delivered beyond 37 weeks of gestational age from 1992 to 2002 at a single community hospital. Rates of perinatal complications by gestational age were analyzed with both bivariate and multivariable analyses. Statistical significance was designated by P <.05.


RESULTS
Among the 45673 women who delivered at 37 completed weeks and beyond, the rates of meconium and macrosomia increased beyond 38 weeks of gestation (P <.001), the rates of operative vaginal delivery, chorioamnionitis, and endomyometritis all increased beyond 40 weeks of gestation (P <.001), and rates of intrauterine fetal death and cesarean delivery increased beyond 41 weeks of gestation (P <.001).


CONCLUSIONS
Risks to both mother and infant increase as pregnancy progresses beyond 40 weeks of gestation.
Caughey
Aaron B
AB
Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA. abcmd@uclink.berkeley.edu
Musci
Thomas J
TJ
D000328:Adult; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D005313:Fetal Death; D005320:Fetal Macrosomia; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D008499:Medical Records; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology*; D011263:Pregnancy Trimester, Third; D011273:Pregnancy, Prolonged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012495:San Francisco / Q000453:epidemiology