It has recently been noted in the New England Journal of Medicine that babies who are delivered at 37 weeks versus 39 weeks have double the problems at birth. As long as a mother is not experiencing any problems, an elective C-section delivery should not be scheduled prior to the baby reaching the 39 week mark.

Delivering just two weeks earlier doubles the risk that the baby will have problems, such as trouble breathing, infection and low blood sugar, according to this recent study. The study’s lead author, Dr. Alan T.N. Tita, an assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology and an epidemiologist at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, said “About 36 percent of women are delivered prior to 39 weeks, electively by Caesarean,” If more women knew these facts, obviously they would choose a date that is in the 39 + week timeline.

“These early deliveries were associated with adverse outcomes. There was a two-fold increase in morbidity in those delivered at 37 weeks compared to women delivered at 39 weeks” said Dr. Tita. Results of the study are published in the Jan. 8 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

To read more on this extensive study, done on more than 13,000 elective C-section births, read the entire article. http://www.businessweek.com/lifestyle/content/healthday/622889.html