Iatrogenic prematurity due to elective termination of the uncomplicated pregnancy: a major perinatal health care problem.

In a series of 1,000 newborn infants referred to a regional neonatal center, 32 iatrogenically preterm infants were identified. All had been delivered following elective termination of uncomplicated, apparently term pregnancies, without prior documentation of fetal lung maturity or ultrasonic determination of fetal biparietal diameter. Associated acute morbidity included asphyxia neonatorum in 10, respiratory distress syndrome in 24, and pneumothorax or pneumomediastinum in nine patients. One infant died. Hospital costs totaled $150,643, for a mean of $4,701 per patient. The unexpected premature births were associated with major parental grief reactions and alterations in their daily activities, Iatrogenic prematurity is a major regional health care problem which, when viewed on a national basis, may affect thousands of newborn infants and their families annually. Our data suggest the need for more accurate assessment of fetal maturity, before elective termination of pregnancy, by well-established techniques.