Expert: Catherine Beier MS CBE - 2/19/2009

Question
I have an amnio next wednesday. i will be 36w3d. i'm expecting a girl. What are the chances her lungs will be mature enough to be born on Thursday? My pregnancy has been healthy. Reason for induction would be for mental health issues.

Answer
Rebekah,

At 34 weeks, there's about a 20% risk of your daughter developing Respiratory Distress Syndrome (RDS).  After 37 weeks, it falls to about 5% or less.

At nearly a month premature, there is still a substantial risk that your daughter's lungs will not be mature.  It's also possible to get a false positive result that indicates lung maturity when the lungs aren't truly mature.

For these reasons, the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecologists encourages all inductions and planned c-sections to occur after 39 weeks whenever possible, to reduce the number of unintended premature deliveries since prematurity is the leading cause of infant mortality in the United States.

Please also be aware that your chances of a successful induction at this point are slim if your cervix is unfavorable and your body isn't yet ready.  Early induction has been shown to quadruple your risk of a c-section.

Your Bishop's score is an indicator of how successful an induction is likely to be. To determine your Bishop's score and whether you're a good candidate for induction, visit http://www.givingbirthnaturally.com/reasons-to-induce-labor.html

So, if your daughter's lungs are shown to be fully mature and you have a favorable Bishop's score, then the odds are with you that things will go smoothly.  If not, then depending on your individual circumstances, it may be best to wait as long as possible or go into labor on your own.


Best,
Catherine