How Many First Time Babies Are Born Early
The truth about three childbirth myths
Some myths nearly babies and what brings on labour take proved remarkably persistent. BBC Future put them under the microscope.
i) First babies ordinarily arrive late
Information technology's true that only 4% of babies are born on their due dates, and that enough of outset babies are born tardily, but plenty of others are born early on. When calculator scientist Allen Downey from the Olin College of Engineering in the The states looked in detail at the data from a survey conducted in 2002 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, he institute that kickoff babies are less likely to exist built-in on the due date than subsequent children. His assay showed they're more likely to be late than subsequent babies, only they are also more likely than 2nd or 3rd babies to exist born early.
He did find that first babies are on boilerplate born slightly afterward than other babies, but by just 16 hours, or a little more than that if you but include babies born at full-term. But since we're looking at all babies, I think it'due south fairer to include the premature babies as well.
16 hours isn't much, then the assumption that first babies are usually several days or fifty-fifty a week tardily isn't correct. It does happen sometimes, and everyone will take anecdotes about babies induced ii weeks after they were due because they've still non arrived. Just of class, data is not the plural of anecdote, so when you're seeking trends, private stories tell us fiddling.
Surprisingly few babies are born on their due date (Credit: Alamy)
There'south also the question of whether we should even look every pregnancy to concluding the same number of weeks. In one written report, researchers measured hormone levels every day from the urine samples of women who were trying to conceive. This allowed them to make up one's mind exactly when ovulation and implantation of the fertilised egg had occurred, and to calculate an accurate length of pregnancy. They institute it could vary by as much every bit five weeks.
For 2nd and 3rd babies, the delivery date might besides depend on the length of the gap between pregnancies. Researchers found that if conception occurs inside a year of the birth of the first infant, the second pregnancy is often shorter.
Some believe that due dates should be abandoned. Instead, women could be given a afterward appointment and told that by this appointment they will take delivered their baby. This would mean that 96% of couples could be saved from the pressure and anxiety that comes from their babe being born on a date other than the one they've had in their minds for all those months.
ii) Spicy nutrient brings on labour
If the due date has passed and there'southward no sign of anything happening, then roughly half of women take things into their own hands. In a US survey, more than a 5th of those hoping to kick-starting time labour did so by eating a hot curry.
The theory is that it might increase peristalsis – the wave similar muscle contractions that help nutrient pass through the gut - which in plough might trigger contractions in the uterus. This has never been tested systematically and there have been calls for large-scale randomised controlled trials to observe what does and doesn't encourage labour to showtime.
Spicy food has long been idea of as a way to bring on labour (Credit: Alamy)
Even if spicy food can trigger contractions in some, its effectiveness might depend on your tolerance to spicy nutrient. If you eat it every twenty-four hours it might not have the aforementioned affect on the intestine and in turn take no touch on the uterus.
3) Your waters always break dramatically
In films, heavily pregnant women suddenly wait stricken as, without warning, liquid suddenly gushes out of them while contractions kickoff and they clutch their bellies, before being rushed to hospital. In fact, it frequently doesn't happen like this. Contractions can begin before the waters suspension. Sometimes they don't interruption and medical staff do it artificially. And very occasionally the amniotic sac doesn't pause at all and the baby is built-in still in the sac, known every bit "en caul". It is claimed that Sigmund Freud himself was one of these babies.
But almost of the time, if waters pause and the baby is at term, and so labour and birth are non far away, if not already underway. One large study found that three-quarters of women whose waters had broken went into labour within 24 hours, the majority without induction.
Those hoping for drama might be disappointed, because even when the waters breaking is the get-go signal that labour is about to start, the amniotic fluid can just seep out gradually, rather than in i big gush.
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How Many First Time Babies Are Born Early
Source: https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20171127-the-truth-about-three-childbirth-myths