According to World Health Organisation statistics, one in every 10 children born is premature, born before 38 weeks of pregnancy. Only a fraction are born in the debatable period of 22 to 24 weeks. “This is the grey zone of medicine,’’ said Dr Chetan Shetty, a neonatologist at Holy Family Hospital, Bandra. Not surprisingly then, the American Association of Pediatrics has always maintained that babies born after spending less than 23 weeks in the womb are not considered “viable.’’
In other words, they could have high mortality (death rate) and morbidity (handicap). International statistics say that an infant born in the 23rd or 24th week of gestation has a 16% chance of surviving with intensive neonatal care and a 64% risk of serious disability, including brain damage and blindness. Incidentally, these cut-off dates seem to coincide with the abortion cut-off dates legally followed in the country concerned. In India, doctors are categorical that a viable child is one who is born after 20 weeks and weighs over 500 grams. Times of India
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