The study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, found that babies delivered via a scheduled C-section before the 39th week of pregnancy were more likely to have breathing problems that required a ventilator, infections, and low blood sugar. The study involved 13,258 cesarean sections done at 19 medical centers from 1999 to 2002. The researchers analyzed data on women who chose to have C-sections and not those who had C-section out of medical necessity.

 

The American College of Obstetrics does not recommend the elective C-section before 39 weeks of gestation in the absence of medical reasons connected to the mother of the baby that requires this type or procedure. But the procedure can be performed in special situations when tests show the baby’s lungs are mature enough for delivery.

 

Despite these recommendations, the new study showed that 36% of planned cesarean births were performed before 39 weeks. Babies delivered in their 37th or 38th week had a higher incidence of birth-related adverse outcomes, including respiratory problems and sepsis (serious infection), than babies delivered in their 39th week, according to the study. Those born at 37 weeks were twice as likely and those born at 38 weeks 50 percent more likely to have a problem than those at 39.

“Even those deliveries done about three days prior to 39 weeks still have an increase in these adverse outcomes,” noted Dr. Alan Tita of the University of Alabama at Birmingham, lead-author of the study.

 

On the other hand, the team says doctors should not wait too long either.

The researchers suggest that part of the situation is the pressure from the mothers-to-be who want to see the newborn and physicians who want to satisfy their patients. But “given the available information, we would recommend that women who plan to have an elective Caesarean wait until the 39th week, at least,” Dr. Alan Tita added.

 

Mothers-to-be should remember the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists’s recommendation, which says mothers should wait until the 39th week of gestation for an elective C-section because the baby’s lungs should be fully developed by then. Statistics show the rate of Caesarean births in the United States increased 31.1 percent in 2006, from 20.7 percent of all births in 1996, according to the study. The researchers suggest the number of women in the U.S. who are having early, planned C-sections may be even higher. The rate of caesarean deliveries increased since 2002, when researchers gathered data for the study.