The Incidence and Outcomes of Late-Term Pregnancy

Amene Ranjbar; Vahid Mehrnoush; Fatemeh Darsareh; Faranak Pariafsay; Malihe Shirzadfardjahromi; Mitra Shekari

doi:10.7759/cureus.33550

The Incidence and Outcomes of Late-Term Pregnancy

Cureus. 2023 Jan 9;15(1):e33550. doi: 10.7759/cureus.33550. eCollection 2023 Jan.

Authors

Amene Ranjbar¹, Vahid Mehrnoush², Fatemeh Darsareh³, Faranak Pariafsay³, Malihe Shirzadfardjahromi³, Mitra Shekari³

Affiliations

¹ Fertility and Infertility Research Center, Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences, Bandar Abbas, IRN.
² Urology Department, Northern Ontario School of Medicine, Thunder Bay, CAN.
³ Mother and Child Welfare Research Center, Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences, Bandar Abbas, IRN.

Abstract

Background: Little is known about the outcomes of late-term pregnancy. In this study, we aim to assess the incidence and adverse prenatal outcomes associated with late-term pregnancy.

Methods: We retrospectively assessed all singleton pregnant mothers who gave birth at Khalij-e-Fars Hospital in Bandar Abbas, Iran, between January 2020 and 2022. All preterm and post-term deliveries were excluded. Mothers were divided into two groups: late-term mothers (41 0/7-41 6/7 weeks of gestation) and term mothers (37 0/7-40 6/7 weeks of gestation). Demographic factors, obstetric factors, maternal comorbidities, and prenatal outcomes were extracted from the electronic data of each mother. The incidence of late-term births was calculated. The chi-squared test was used to compare differences between the groups. Logistic regression models were used to assess the association of prenatal outcome with late-term pregnancy.

Results: There were 8,888 singleton deliveries during the study period, and 1,269 preterm and post-term pregnancies were ruled out. Of the 7,619 deliveries, 309 (4.1%) were late-term, while 7,310 (95.9%) were term. There were no sociodemographic differences between term and late-term mothers. The late-term group had a higher prevalence of primiparous mothers, and the term group had a higher prevalence of diabetes. Late-term mothers had a higher risk of macrosomia (adjusted odds ratio (aOR): 2.24 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.34-3.01)), meconium amniotic fluid (aOR: 2.32 (95% CI: 1.59-3.14)), and fetal distress (aOR: 2.38 (95% CI: 1.54-2.79)). When compared to term pregnancy, the risk of low birth weight (LBW) was lower in late-term pregnancy (aOR: 0.69 (95% CI: 0.36-0.81)).

Conclusions: Late-term pregnancy was found to be more likely to be associated with macrosomia, meconium amniotic fluid, and fetal distress, but serious maternal and neonatal adverse events were comparable to term pregnancy.

Keywords: childbirth; late-term pregnancy; maternal outcome; neonatal outcome; pregnancy.