Americans could be having shorter pregnancies out of convenience, new study says
A new study has found that Americans are having shorter pregnancies, and it’s not caused by biology.
Researchers from the Boston University School of Public Health and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center studied thousands of births in the United States, England and the Netherlands and suggest hospital organizational structure may be to blame for shorter, and potentially riskier, pregnancies.
“We found that over the course of 30 years, average gestational age in the U.S. was reduced by more than one half week,” the study said.
The average gestational age, meaning the amount of time between conception and birth, was 39.1 weeks in 1990. In 2020, that time was down to 38.5 weeks in the United States.
The study compared hospital versus home births and the timing of births between the three wealthy countries. Aside from Americans having shorter pregnancies, the researchers also found that home births were more common in the European nations, and those births were typically during the early hours of the day.
“England and the Netherlands, both of which have better infant and maternal outcomes than the U.S., rely heavily on midwives to provide maternity care, which may reflect both a difference in the allocation of resources and a preference for spontaneous labor over intervention,” researchers said.
The researchers said that the pattern of birth times show natural birth, meaning without induction or anesthesia, typically occured between 1 a.m and 6 a.m. in the births they studied.
American births, however, were more common at hospitals and during the hours of 8 a.m and 5 p.m., typical work hours for maternal care units.
“For the purposes of hospital organization, the allocation of human resources, and provider and support staff convenience, the timing of birth, at least in the United States, appears to have evolved into a pattern that is easier for the maternity care system to manage,” the researchers said.
The researchers suggest that because Americans rely on hospitals to give birth, the maternal care system has encouraged birthing to take place at convenient work times, which may not be the best time for each baby or person giving birth.
The gestational age may be shorter in the United States simply to avoid births occurring on the weekend or at night, they said.
The researchers said previous studies have shown “poorer outcomes during evening and late night hours for both infants and birthing people, as well as poorer outcomes on weekends.”
The study noted that Americans who have home births are more likely to be able to afford a midwife or doula, and may have had better prenatal care leading up to the birth compared to those who must rely on a hospital for maternal care. The researchers also acknowledged that pregnant people with pre-existing conditions that may complicate birth are also more likely to opt for a hospital birth compared to an at-home option.
They concluded that in order to prioritize the health and safety of the baby and the person giving birth, hospitals should consider reorganizing intervention methods to better match what they consider a “natural pattern of labor.”
This story was originally published January 24, 2023 at 2:04 PM with the headline "Americans could be having shorter pregnancies out of convenience, new study says."
