title: Late preterm: obstetric management.
abstract: Late preterm is the recommended definition for infants born at 34 0/7 to 36 6/7 weeks' gestation after the onset of the mother's last menstrual period. Late-preterm infants are known to have greater mortality and morbidity when compared with term infants during the neonatal period. Obstetric management plays a substantial role in influencing neonatal outcomes. We conducted a retrospective study on late-preterm births based on data collected by regional certificates of birth attendance, comparing overall data with those relative to our Department, the aim of our study was to evaluate if obstetric management, related to different delivery settings, could influence the prevalence and the method of delivery in late preterm gestational age. Preterm births represent about 10% of 25,011 births in Sardinia, and 72.6% of them are late preterm. Elective cesarean section results significantly higher in late preterm than in term deliveries. In our Department, both late-preterm delivery rate and elective cesarean sections rate were lower if compared with country region data. Obstetric management strategies play an important role in delaying deliveries and reducing late-preterm birth rates.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Azienda Ospedaliero Universitaria, Cagliari.
authors.forename: Alessandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Meloni
authors.forename: Antonello
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Antonelli
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Deiana
authors.forename: Alessio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rocca
authors.forename: Alessandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Atzei
authors.forename: Anna Maria
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Paoletti
authors.forename: Gian Benedetto
authors.initials: GB
authors.lastname: Melis
mesh_terms: D036861:Delivery, Obstetric / Q000534:rehabilitation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D007226:Infant Mortality; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature; D007235:Infant, Premature, Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D007744:Obstetric Labor Complications / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy; D007752:Obstetric Labor, Premature / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011263:Pregnancy Trimester, Third; D047928:Premature Birth / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy*; D015995:Prevalence; D012189:Retrospective Studies