ABSTRACT
Background: Late preterm births are defined' as birth between 34 and 36 completed weeks gestation and term births as' born after 37 weeks of gestation. Maturation is a continuous' process till term and the severity of adverse outcomes with birth increases with decreasing gestational age. Recent studies showed increased risk of' morbidities for babies' at 37 weeks than its term counterpart babies' at 39 weeks. Considering the risk for adverse neonatal outcomes in early term births, various studies recommended that the label 'term' be redefined as early term, full term and late term designations to more accurately acknowledge deliveries occurring at or beyond 37' weeks of gestation. This designation will help precise' identification and targeting these early term' babies for early intervention and for better neonatal outcomes.Methods: This is a prospective study which included all' term births delivered during the 12-month study between January 2017 and December 2017. Babies born between 37 and 38 6/7 weeks were designated as early term and those born after 39 weeks as full-term babies. Neonatal outcomes of these babies were recorded and monitored till discharge.Results: There were 660 term live births during the study period. The incidence of early term births account for 19.7%, as compared with full term births representing 80.3 %. Compared with term babies, early term births were at risk for transitional problems such as respiratory distress (61.5% vs 38.5%), hypoglycemia (76.2% vs 23.8%), hyperbilirubinemia requiring phototherapy (53.7% vs 46.7%) and feeding' problems (59.1% vs 40.9%).Conclusions: Early term births are associated with increased risk of neonatal morbidities as compared with full term births. This indicates need for more attention towards preventing early term births.