Fetal weight and age and preterm labor
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Fetal weight and age and preterm labor
A doctor or nurse-midwife considers a number of factors when deciding how to treat preterm labor. The fetus's level of maturity, mostly judged by weight and age, is one of these factors. The later a baby is born and the more a baby weighs, the better the baby's chances of surviving.
No treatment is used if a mother is less than 23 weeks or more than 34 to 36 weeks pregnant. A fetus delivered near 23 weeks into the pregnancy has little chance of survival. A baby born near 36 weeks into a pregnancy is likely to survive with little or no treatment.
Newborns weighing less than
Credits
| Author | Kathe Gallagher, MSW |
| Editor | Kathleen M. Ariss, MS |
| Associate Editor | Pat Truman, MATC |
| Primary Medical Reviewer | Joy Melnikow, MD, MPH - Family Medicine |
| Primary Medical Reviewer | Kathleen Romito, MD - Family Medicine |
| Specialist Medical Reviewer | William Gilbert, MD - Perinatology |
| Last Updated | January 19, 2007 |
| Last updated: | January 19, 2007 |
|---|---|
| Author: | Kathe Gallagher, MSW |
| Reviewed By: | Kathleen Romito, MD - Family Medicine, William Gilbert, MD - Perinatology |
| Editors: | Kathleen M. Ariss, MS, Pat Truman, MATC |
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