Full-term pregnancy may not always be best

A study that shows the use of drugs to delay preterm labor may be harmful challenges the current view that "keeping the baby inside longer must be a good thing", say experts.

The opinion appears as an editorial in the latest edition of the British Medical Journal in response to a study that appears in the same edition.

According to the Dutch study, preterm labor is the main cause of perinatal illness and death in the developed world.

Drugs, known as tocolytics, are used to delay delivery for up to 48 hours.

This is primarily to give doctors time to administer steroids to speed up the baby's lung development, transfer the mother to a center with a neonatal intensive care unit, or both.

The researchers found the overall incidence of adverse reactions to a tocolytic drug was low. However, they found increased problems when the tocolytics were delivered in a multi-drug regimen.