Cease the practice of early elective delivery, says March of Dimes

OBG Management PubMed

Free CME
Classifieds
Register/Login

January 2011 · Vol. 23, No. 1

Cease the practice of early elective delivery, says March of Dimes

Elective delivery before 39 full weeks of gestation must end if birth outcomes are to improve, organization asserts

RELATED ARTICLE

“39 weeks is the rule, provided delivery is truly elective”
“If you give magnesium sulfate for fetal neuroprotection, adhere to a protocol”
(Update on Obstetrics; January 2011)
John T. Repke, MD, and Jaimey M. Pauli, MD

“More strategies to avoid malpractice hazards on labor and delivery”
(Second of two parts; Focus on Professional Liability; January 2011)
Martin L. Gimovsky, MD, and Alexis C. Gimovsky, MD

Janelle Yates,

Senior Editor

Obstetricians and other providers of intrapartum care can improve birth outcomes significantly by eliminating the practice of elective delivery before 39 full weeks of gestation. That’s a key recommendation in a report issued by the March of Dimes at the end of 2010.¹

In tandem with the report and accompanying formal recommendations for clinical care, the March of Dimes is expanding a quality improvement program to reduce unnecessary inductions and cesarean deliveries, noted Scott D. Berns, MD, MPH, at a presentation by the organization in New York on December 15. Dr. Berns is senior vice president for Chapter Programs of the March of Dimes and editor of the report, Toward Improving the Outcome of Pregnancy III (TIOP III). He is also clinical professor of pediatrics at the Warren Alpert Medical School at Brown University.

Advertisement1