Abstract

Postterm pregnancy is when a woman has not yet delivered her baby after 42 weeks of gestation, two weeks beyond the typical 40-week duration of pregnancy. Post mature births carry risks for both the mother and the baby, including fetal malnutrition, meconium aspiration syndrome, and stillbirth. After the 42nd week of gestation, the placenta which supplies the baby with nutrients and oxygen from the mother starts ageing and will eventually fail. Postterm pregnancy is a reason to induce labor. The current definition and management of postterm pregnancy have been challenged in several studies as the emerging evidence demonstrates that the incidence of complications associated with postterm pregnancy also increase prior to 42 weeks of gestation. METHOD: this study was carried at obstetrics and gynaecology dept of SSMC Rewa, over a period of july 2022 – sept 2022.100 antenatal pts. beyond 40wk. of gestation were selected by non-randomised method with inclusion and exclusion criteria who has given written consent. RESULTS: total of 100 cases were taken out of which 64 delivered full term vaginal pregnancy, out of which 57 were between 40-41wk of GA and 7 pts. were between 41-42wk of GA. 34 pts. delivered by LSCS among them 29 pts. were between 40-41wk of GA and 5 pts. were 41-42 wk of GA . 2 pts. were delivered by instrumental delivery between 40-41wk of GA. CONCLUSION: Postterm pregnancy is associated with fetal, neonatal and maternal complications including morbidity and perinatal mortality. These risks were originally underestimated because of inaccurate pregnancy dating and the denominator used to define stillbirth. The use of routine ultrasound for dating in the first trimester has decreased the overall rate of postterm pregnancy and demonstrated higher complication rates in postterm pregnancies due to better distinction between term and postterm gestation. Also the use of on-going pregnancies as a denominator for stillbirth rather than pregnancies delivered has shown a six-fold increase in perinatal complications in postterm women.

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