Should Large Babies Be Induced Earlier For Their Safety? New Research Will Find Out

Is it safer to deliver big babies early or let them continue to grow up to 40 weeks plus? Is the question a new clinical trial will be researching over the next three and a half years.

A partnership between University of Warwick, University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire (UHCW) NHS Trust and the Perinatal Institute is examining the safety and difficulty that big babies can get into during delivery. Once a baby’s head is through, a large sized baby can become stuck at the shoulders.

Sixty maternity hospitals will be taking part in the research, with 4000 pregnant women needed across the country. The aim is to find out if inducing birth earlier will reduce potential complications.

“As well as being extremely traumatic and painful for the mother it can cause children to be born with conditions such as Erb’s palsy, is caused by damage to nerves in the neck during birth. This condition can debilitate the use of a baby’s arm, which in some cases can’t be rectified,” Professor Siobhan Quenby of Warwick Medical School, University of Warwick and UHCW NHS Trust said.

Tape measurements of a pregnant woman’s abdomen is the method used to predict the size of a baby. To confirm potential problems, a futher ultrasound is carried out.

Professor Jason Gardosi, Director of the Perinatal Institute says: “Many clinicians in our UK-wide network of obstetricians and midwives are often at a loss of what to advise the mother, as the evidence is not clear, and can be interpreted in different ways.”

Mums-to-be who agree to take part will be randomly allocated either an early induction at around 38 weeks, or placed into a control group to allow the pregnancy and delivery to continue according to current guidelines.

The National Institute for Health Research is funding the study, the results of which will inform NHS guidelines as to which is the safest methods for labour due to baby size.