Full Term

I answered the post you are referencing, but for yours I went to the March of Dimes web site, because who should know more about this subject than them? ~ IMO.

March of Dimes

premature baby:A baby born before 37 completed weeks of pregnancy.

Full term: A pregnancy that lasts between 37 and 42 weeks of pregnancy. It’s best for your baby if you stay pregnant until you’re full term.

As I previously stated I thought that full term was 38 - 42 weeks, but alas I was wrong.

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I answered the post you are referencing. The reason I was questioning 37 weeks as full-term was the poster said her doctor told her she NEEDED to be induced because she was 37 weeks. I was asking why a doctor might be suggesting that. I agree that most babies are fine if they are born after 37 weeks, but why would inducing be stated as a necessity??

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K., the reason these women are saying that 37 weeks is not full term is because they never had reason to find out from their obstetricians that 37 weeks is indeed considered full term. We all think that 40 weeks is the magic number until our pregnancies are threatened.

That's why the doctors stop the medications like terbutaline (brethine) at 37 weeks to prevent contractions for those of us on bedrest for preterm labor.

No one in the medical establishment considers a baby to be a preemie when born past 37 weeks, so don't wonder about that.

D.

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American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) definition of "term" or "full term" pregnancy is the completion of 37 weeks (so technically 38 weeks to 40 weeks). Your 38 5/7 week baby was term by definition. Before the completion of the 37 week is considered premature. Many babies do well when born between 35 and 37 weeks, but a larger percentage than "term" babies have respiratory challenges sometimes requiring assistance in breathing (oxygen, ventilator, etc) because their lungs are still immature. Perhaps this will clear up any confusion. Nurse Midwife Mom

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37 weeks is considered full term. Any time after they are just gaining weight as most everything is fully developed.

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We did IVF to have our son (in 1998).
My eggs were retrieved Feb 03 and I gave birth on Oct 27.
That's 267 days or 38 weeks plus a few days.
He was full term, I went into labor on my own (was not induced) and he was 9 lbs 1 1/2 oz,
He was born exactly on his estimated due date.
40 weeks is an average - some are shorter and some are longer.
Most of the time the difficulty is in figuring out exactly when conception took place.

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According to everything I have read from ACOG (American Congress of Obstetrics and Gynecology) and AWHON (Association of Women's Health, Obstetrics and Neonatal Nurses), preterm is before 36 completed weeks, so term would be 37-42 weeks. These are also the "dates" we use at work in determining term pregnancy (I am a labor & delivery nurse and have advanced certification in inpatient obstetrics).

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I think people are saying that because at 37 weeks there are still some dangers present that are greatly diminished by 40 weeks. For example a baby born at 37 weeks has a 50% greater chance of passing away from SIDS. Also at 37 weeks the baby is just barely "done"-the lungs are the last organ to mature and alot of people are unsure of exactly when they concieved. Ultra sounds can be off by a week or more in terms of predicting how old the baby is.

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Were your responders ALL OBGYNs? Some moms like to think that their each individual experiences are the 'correct' ones. Some babies are born at 40 weeks, some babies struggle soooo early. My thoughts that are that if the baby, no matter what the 'weeks' are at their birthday, if they are able to go home with their mamas, that's really all that matters.

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ok well it depends on why you are asking. 37 weeks is considered term and if you go into labor it is conisdered safe to deliver.
It is not considered safe for a scheduled c-section. In retrospective studies they are finding diminished outcomes. There is a difference in development milestones between 37 and 38 weeks. But again more in cases of intervention versus labor. Some of this information is new and I suspect you will see some new standards set.
the end of your 36th week is be definition term. However generally you will also hear people speak of term being between 38-42 weeks. Due dates not matter how sophisticated are only estimates.

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37 weeks is generally considered full-term, although 40 weeks is the full, full-term. Confused yet?

With my first, I had placentia previa and needed to have a c-section before I went into labor (which could have been deadly for me). The c-section was planned for my 37th week because this was the beginning of being full-term but it was early enough that I'd be unlikely to go into labor before that. They did do an amnio to ensure her lungs were fully developed. So, at 37 weeks I gave birth to a full-term, non-premie, baby.

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Because my pregnancy was not achieved naturally, I know the EXACT date of my baby's "conception". They tack on an automatic two weeks because that is the standard that was set up. When my zygote/fetus--whatever it was at the time--was actually four weeks old, it registered on the charts as six weeks. The system that doctors use to measure size and development is based on menstrual cycles. Assuming that each woman is most likely to become pregnant at a certain point in her cycle (and because most people don't know the exact date of conception), the doctor counts two weeks from your last period as your date of conception. Then, everything after that is based on what's been recorded for that period of time. When my fetus was actually eight weeks, it registered as 10 weeks and was doing what 10wo fetuses do, because the chart/system has been set up to incorporate an automatic two weeks. On my due date, my fetus would have been actually 38 weeks old, but I would have been 40 weeks pregnant.

Did I clear that up at all? Can you understand why there's a bit of a gray area? During my ultrasound appointments, the techs and "guest" doctors would try to tell me stuff about dates, not knowing that I had exact info because I was in on it from before Day One.

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My first was born at 37 weeks, second at 36 weeks and third at 37 weeks. I remember talking to the nurse when I was having labor symptoms with my first and I remember her saying that 37 weeks is considered full term. With my 36 weeker they referred to her as pre-term, not premature. In all cases they were perfectly healthy, lungs and all and came home after the normal 48 hour stay.

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I was 10 days overdue with my son - and he spent 10 days in the NICU for a respiratory infection from passing his first stool. So.. i don't agree with going over your 40 weeks, but I have know girls who delieverd at 37 and it was 50/50 on their children and how their lungs progressed. I've talked with my doctor as we plan on having another baby in the near future and will be a scheduled c-section - and she said she was comfortable with taking the baby about 39 weeks, but not before unless it happened naturally. I think it depends on how you have that baby at 37 weeks - induced for medical reason or naturally?

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My OB considers anything between 38w and 40w full term.

My daughter was causing me many problems with my back. I was 37w 3d on a Monday when I went to the hospital begging them to make the pain stop. My OB would not induce me until I was at least 38w which meant I had to wait 3-4 more days of suffering.

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It marks the beginning of fullterm but 40 weeks is officially it. I think they use the 37-40 week as a guideline if they have to induce for one reason or another.

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Everything I've ever heard also points to the 37 week mark being full-term. I asked my sister who is a nurse for a pediatrician & she agreed as well. We all know that due dates based on the classic 40-week window are estimates anyway.

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37 weeks is the general consensus that it is 'ok' for the baby to be forced to be born - whether thru induction or cesarean. In truth, the baby isn't full term until 40 weeks and the best Drs will allow the baby to come when IT is ready (it sends out a hormone that starts the cycle of contractions). Sadly, the best Drs are either dead or forced out of practice because this is a surgery and hurry it up kind of mentality.

My daughter was supposedly 37 weeks and was fine - but I think they had the dates messed up. My 40weeks and 1 day baby (#2) had to be in the NICU for 10 days...

Why force a baby to be born when there is still so much more time they can mature and develop more fully before birth?

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40 weeks is an average, assuming you have exactly 28 day cycles and ovulate exactly on day 14. It's a guess, a guideline, an estimate so that the doctors have something to work with. A control to compare to.
All 3 of my kids were born before 40 weeks, all in the 38-39 week mark. I went into labor naturally and spontaneously with every single one of them. They were all considered "full term" when they were born. One was almost 7 pounds and the other two were almost 8 pounds.
I have 21-24 at most day cycles, it is extremely rare for me to go to 28 days and that's only when I've been really sick or stressed so ovulation is delayed. I ovulate around day 10, though sometimes as early as day 6. With that math I should not carry to 40 weeks as they would have cooked too long and I'd probably run into problems.
With my first child we went to a traditional OB with the planned hospital birth. She started getting her panties in a twist because I was "measuring big". That date matched up to the corrected earlier due date the ultrasound indicated but it didn't match up to the spinny wheel of doom 40 week date. She refused to go by the ultrasound due date and kept going with the 40 week due date, she even went so far as to say that all first time mothers are always late and carry longer then 40 weeks! It was a fight and struggle to get her to stop trying to convince me something was wrong. Well..obviously we proved her wrong. My other 2 were at a free standing birth center with a midwife. They actually paid attention to my charting and the fact that my first was born before 40 weeks and he ultrasounds giving an earlier date and that I was "measuring big" but measuring right on for the corrected dates. My second child I actually guessed his exact birthday, he was born the very day I calculated he'd be born! My third came 4 days before the day I said..which I realized afterwards was a mistake in my calculations..I ovulated on day 6 not 10 thus the 4 days..but my chart was a little spotty that month..thus my little surprise LOL
That date is called an ESTIMATED Due Date for a reason. It is not set in stone! There is wiggle room either way to still be considered full term and safe.

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