Reply #59: stick a fork in "viability" [View All]

[iverglas]

22 weeks is the earliest we have been able to maintain a premature birth. ... 20 is a good metric because it is beyond the grey area of technology.

There has never been and will never be a successful birth at 20 weeks. Not until we have perfected that robot uterus thing, and then we wouldn't be calling it a "birth".

Do you have a clue what the survival rate at 22 weeks is?

http://www.bma.org.uk/ap.nsf/Content/AbortionTimeLimits~Factors~viability

Summary of outcomes among extremely preterm children

Outcome. . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 wk.....23 wk.....24 wk.....25wk
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Number (per cent)

Died in delivery room ...........116 (84)...10 (46)...84 (22)...67 (16)
Admitted for intensive care.......22 (16)..131 (54)..298 (78)..357 (84)
Died in NICU......................20 (14)..105 (44)..198 (52)..171 (40)
Survived to discharge..............2 (1)....26 (11)..100 (26)..186 (44) <<<<<<
Deaths post-discharge..............0.........1 (.4)....2 (.5)....3 (.7) <<<<<<
Lost to follow-up..................0.........3 (1)....25 (7)....39 (9)

At 6 years of age:
Survived w/ severe disability......1 (.7)....5 (2)....21 (5)....26 (6)
Survived w/ moderate disability....0.........9 (4)....16 (4)....32 (8)
Survived w/ mild disability........1 (.7)....5 (2)....26 (7)....51 (12)
Survived w/ no impairment..........0.........3 (1)....10 (3)....35 (8)

2 out of 158 fetuses delivered at 22 weeks were "viable" -- in hindsight. The other 156 weren't "viable" -- in hindsight -- given as how they died.

2 out of 158 is under 1.3%.

186 out of 784 fetuses delivered at 25 weeks where the outcome was known survived to discharge: under 24%. 109 of 144 checked at 6 years had disabilities.


http://www.stillnomore.org/faq.htm

Stillbirths are as random as raindrops, occurring for no apparent cause even in the case of mothers who lead a healthy lifestyle during pregnancy. Most late and full term stillborn babies are born to mothers who experienced no problems with their pregnancy, who were healthy, and who led substance-free lifestyles. Rarely is a stillbirth caused by something the mother did. Until better data is available, and until autopsies are routinely offered to all stillbirth families, the causes, and thus, any new risk reduction measures, will continue to elude doctors.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/6588377.stm

Tuesday, 24 April 2007, 22:40 GMT 23:40 UK

Stillbirth numbers not reducing
A third of stillbirths occur at the end of pregnancy

Just over one in 200 pregnancies ends in a stillbirth, a figure which has remained unchanged since the early 1990s, a survey has revealed.

Stillbirths are deaths of unborn babies after the 24th week of pregnancy. ...

... Stillbirths declined steadily from the 1950s to the 1990s. Since then, there has been some success in reducing the number of stillbirths in multiple pregnancies, and in babies born prematurely, but the incidence in singleton pregnancies has remained level.

... Overall, the stillbirth rate was 5.5 per 1,000 births. A third of stillbirths occurred when a baby had reached full-term. For women under 20, the rate is 6.6 per 1,000 and for those over 40 it is 7.2 per 1,000 births.

... In over 50% of cases, doctors do not know why a baby is stillborn, although there is a theory that many of the cases could be linked to a baby failing to grow properly in the womb. Known causes of stillbirth include congenital malformations, where a baby's brain, heart or other organ have failed to develop properly; maternal haemorrhage; or asphyxiation during childbirth.

Now tell us again ... which fetuses are viable?

So 1 in 200 women forced to continue a pregnancy will deliver a dead baby/fetus (and that's not counting miscarriages before 24 weeks). In 1 in 200 cases of "viable" fetuses, oh look -- the fetus wasn't viable.

I don't think I want to rely on your crystal ball to decide when or why a woman may exercise her rights.