Researchers at the University of Queensland reported this week that full-term babies born just a few weeks early are more likely to have poor physical fitness throughout life compared with babies of longer gestation.
The average human gestation period is 40 weeks, and a baby born after 37‑42 weeks is considered to be full term. It is well known that babies born pre-term, ie, before 37 weeks are prone to neurological, cognitive, and respiratory morbidity. However, with a trend towards shorter gestation periods becoming apparent, the question arose as to whether this affected the baby’s health.