Pregnancy: Is 7 Months Safer Than 8? & Premature Birth Concerns

Question
Hi Doc. Here in our country, it is believed that it is more safe for a woman to give birth on the 7th month than on the eight, though I've no heard of this from a real doctor. Is there some truth to this?

Also, if a baby is born on the seventh month, does he/she have to be put on incubator for two months (to complete the '9 months')? What are the chances of survival for a baby born in just seven months (early seven months)?

Thanks doctor. Appreciate your time.

Mark

Answer
First of all, a pregnancy is 40 weeks (or ten lunar months of 28 days each). (A pregnancy is nine calendar months but some are 30 days, some are 31 days, and one is 28 days). The baby's lungs will not be mature enough to survive in the outside world until 36-37 weeks gestational age. Normally, we do not encourage delivering a baby earlier because we are not sure that the lungs are mature and we want the baby to grow to an adequate size. If the patient is a diabetic or has hypertension or some other reason to deliver earlier, we sould not deliver before being assured that the baby is mature enough to survive. The safest time to give birth is when the patient goes into labor on her own at around 40 weeks gestational age.