Due Dates For Pregnant Mothers Narrowed Down With Routine Screening

Could researchers have discovered how to better estimate delivery dates? 

New findings published in the International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology reveal that when that a routine screening test could help narrow the period in which a woman gives birth via a routine screening. 

"Measuring cervical length via ultrasound at around 37-39 weeks can give us a better sense of whether a mother deliver soon or not," says senior author Vincenzo Berghella, M.D., Director of Maternal Fetal Medicine at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, and Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University. 

As it stands, only around 5 percent of women deliver on their due date--with estimates varying from two days to as much as three weeks off (early or late.)

During the study, researchers examined the findings of five studies that examined 735 women with single-child pregnancies with babies in the correct head-down position.

Health officials typically measure cervical length has been used to help detect women with a high chance of premature labor. For instance, a shorter cervix might increase this risk. It also works as a good predictor of labor because it tracks the natural progress of a woman's body toward labor. For instance, when a woman's body prepares for labor, the cervix, which keeps the baby from going through the birth canal, begins to soften, according to researchers.

The cervix measured less than 1.2 inches at a woman's due date, there was only a 50 percent chance of the delivering the baby in seven days. On the other hand, when the cervix measured 0.4 inches, a woman's chance of delivering within seven days was at 85 percent.

"Women always ask for a better sense of their delivery date in order to help them prepare for work leave, or to make contingency plans for sibling care during labor. These are plans which help reduce a woman's anxiety about the onset of labor," Berghella said in a news release. "But having a better sense can also help obstetricians provide information that could help improve or even save a mother's or baby's life."

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