Campaigns to reduce elective early-term births effective, study finds | News | Notre Dame News | University of Notre Dame Skip To Content Skip To Navigation Skip To Search University of Notre Dame Notre Dame News Experts ND in the News Subscribe About Us Home Contact Search Menu Home › News › Campaigns to reduce elective early-term births effective, study finds Campaigns to reduce elective early-term births effective, study finds Published: September 11, 2017 Author: Brittany Collins Kaufman Mother and baby A new study from researchers at the University of Notre Dame and the University of Central Florida shows that programs aimed at reducing early-term elective births have been successful, reducing the number of health complications in mothers and babies. Early-term elective births, where mothers choose to schedule their deliveries via cesarean section or induction at 37 or 38 weeks despite no medical need to do so, rose in popularity in the 1990s and early 2000s. These scheduled births were viewed by many mothers and doctors as a convenient way to avoid weekend deliveries or plan around work or holiday schedules. By the mid-2000s, however, a growing body of evidence began to show that these early elective deliveries were associated with a higher risk of complications in labor. In response, groups such as March of Dimes and the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology and government agencies launched campaigns to promote the goal of waiting until 39 weeks gestation. Kasey Buckles A new paper from Kasey Buckles, Brian and Jeannelle Brady Associate Professor of Economics at Notre Dame, published in the Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, shows that these campaigns effectively reduced the number of early-term elective births in the U.S. — and, as a result, led to healthier deliveries for mothers and their babies. Buckles and her co-author, Melanie Guldi, associate professor of economics at the University of Central Florida, collected data from birth certificates from the National Center for Health Statistics to identify trends in elective early-term inductions and C-sections around the U.S. By combining this data with information from different policy programs like March of Dimes’ “Healthy Babies Are Worth the Wait,” Buckles and Guldi were able to measure the effectiveness of these campaigns. “Previous medical research had established links between early elective deliveries and poor health outcomes for mothers and infants,” Buckles said, “but most of this work has only been able to document correlations. We establish a causal link by showing that when policies are put in place that discourage this practice, not only do early inductions decrease, but we see higher birth weights and lower rates of precipitous labor, birth injuries and assisted ventilation. “We hope that our study, which shows that these efforts have led to real improvements in health, will encourage these organizations to continue and expand their programs,” Buckles said. The paper, “Worth the Wait? The Effect of Early Term Birth on Maternal and Infant Health,” is available online here: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/pam.22014/full.   Contact: Brittany Kaufman, assistant director of media relations, 574-631-6335, bcollin8@nd.edu Posted In: Research Home Experts ND in the News Subscribe About Us Related October 05, 2022 Astrophysicists find evidence for the presence of the first stars October 04, 2022 NIH awards $4 million grant to psychologists researching suicide prevention September 29, 2022 Notre Dame, Ukrainian Catholic University launch three new research grants September 27, 2022 Notre Dame, Trinity College Dublin engineers join to advance novel treatment for cystic fibrosis September 22, 2022 Climate-prepared countries are losing ground, latest ND-GAIN index shows For the Media Contact Office of Public Affairs and Communications Notre Dame News 500 Grace Hall Notre Dame, IN 46556 USA Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube Pinterest © 2022 University of Notre Dame Search Mobile App News Events Visit Accessibility Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube LinkedIn