Neonatal morbidities and developmental outcomes of infants born early term

Background: Term babies are those who are born between 37 weeks 0 days and 42 weeks. They are further subdivided into early term (between 37 weeks and 38 weeks) and full term (between 37 weeks and 38 weeks). The objectives of this review are to examine the effect of early-term birth on adverse neonatal outcomes and developmental disabilities. Methods: We searched PubMed, EMBASE, Scopus, and Google scholar from January 2007 to December 2020, for studies investigating the associations between early-term birth and neonatal mortality, morbidity and long term developmental outcomes. Results: Twenty two studies were included in the review, of which fourteen compared morbidity and mortality rates and eight assessed any adverse developmental outcomes among the subgroups of term babies. Reviewed studies found that early-term birth was associated with increased neonatal mortality, poor neonatal outcomes and short term and long term developmental disabilities. Conclusion: The included trials in this review involved a sizeable population, with good quality with limited reporting for adjusting the outcomes for obstetric, social and regional factors. We recommend to assess the benefits or harms before planning early birth and to carefully follow infants born early term for neurodevelopmental disabilities.