My OB and I have been discussing birth options. I had an emergency csec with first bub.

We are both happy for me to try VBAC. She will not induce me.

We have also discussed elective CSec. She initially said 39wks or 40wks or 41wks. Our choice.

I am hoping things progress on there own. If not I just need to look at our choices.

She has now said she would rather not do the induction at 39wks as some babies can have lung issues. Well why say you would, then say you wont??

I would like to hear from those that have delivered by choice (csec) at 39wks, did your bub have lung issues?

At 39 weeks you should have no problems at all.

While both my babies were considered 'emergency' c-sections, neither had any problems what-so-ever. Nathan was delivered at 37+1 and Emily 38+1. Both perfect.

Best of luck with your decision.

I was induced at 38 weeks and ended up having a c/s. Zoe had no breathing issues whatsoever.

I havent personally - but I did have some friends in my mothers group that delivered before 40 weeks by c-sect (one has had 2 elective c-sects at 37 weeks due to a complication she has) and all of them were fine with no problems at all.

As a general rule I thought that a baby from 37 weeks didnt have any problems and between 35 - 37 weeks was borderline for possible lung problems or suck swallow breathe reflex issues? This was just my experience from time spent in the NICU when Ryan was born (he was 2 weeks overdue, but had other issues).

Oscar was born 39 weeks exactly by induction. No problems.

I was induced with J at 39+5 and ended up with e-ceaser.
This time round i had some probelms early on in the pregnancy and had a (elective) c/section although there were many risks if i tried a VBAC. I had D at 37+5 days. He was born perfect although did have premmature sucking but within a few weeks he was on the breast full time and is feeding perfectly.

At 39 weeks everything should be fine.

I had B by "elective" c-sect at 38 weeks because he was IUGR and he's perfectly healthy.

Hmmmm this is what stumped me as to why she said she would do it then said she would prefer not to!?

My ultimate concern is for our baby and dont want to do anything that could do any harm. She has scared me into thinking that a 39wk delivery would be bad for our baby.

Thanks for your replies so far, much appreciated.

My obs originally advised us that we would be induced at 38 weeks, due to our remote location, the 350km trip each way to the hospital , and my husbands crazy work schedule. He advised that this was routine and not to be concerned.

I will prob not make it all the way to 38 weeks now. but i am sure you will be fine with a 39w delivery.

Given 38 weeks is considered full term, it seems very odd that your Obs is suggesting lung problems as if the baby will somehow be premmie at 39 weeks! Unless there are other complicating factors we don't know about.

I have had 2 c-secs, the 1st at 38 weeks, the second at 37.5, and both babies were perfectly fine, no breathing issues, nothing. I am gearing up for my 3rd c-sec in July, and my Obs is very forthcoming about risks, but has never said anything about full-term babies having breathing problems at 38+ weeks.

Our little man was delivered at 38+6 via c-sec and had no issues at all

My sister's lil one was born at 37 weeks and again no issues with lungs etc

I had my baby involuntarily at 37 weeks with no problems for him.

My friend just had her beautiful boy on Sunday at 38+5 and he has no problems - he was meant to be a 39+1 baby but had other plans so she had an 'emergency c-sec'.

Kaia was born at 37+4 and was only using 1 side of her lungs to breathe but after some oxygen she was fine and had no other problems
ETA: I was induced too as my waters had broke the day before naturally with no labour starting

I am surprised that your obstetrician would have said this to you as well. It is actually quite uncommon for babies born after about 32 - 33 weeks have significant lung issues, certainly by 34 - 35 weeks it becomes extremely rare. This is why, typically, only babies born before 32 weeks, or who are otherwise unwell need neonatal intensive care at birth (one of the key differentiators of NICUs from Special Care Nurseries is their ability to provide ventilation and other respiratory support). Most Special Care Nurseries do not have facilities for breathing support (other than some supplementary oxygen directly into incubators) simply because they don't need these facilities.

I wasn't in this position with my first but my obs has said when and if I get pregnant again she either wants to induce me at 38 weeks or have an elective c sec as my first labour ended in a c section after a failed induction and she is concerned about a larger bub fitting through my pelvis considering this (very average, 40 week) babe didn't!! Nothing at all was said about 38 or 39 weeks being a concern for lung issues.

I haven't heard of it personally, maybe ask for some more info, and as to why they have changed their minds??

My little girl was born exactly at 38 weeks and she has no problems at all

Abbey was induced at 39+2 and she is perfectly healthy with no issues.

I know you were after peoples opinions who had had csections, however I was rather close, I was in the theatre with a crowd of 14 and all of a sudden he wanted out, now I know its not the same but I just wanted to add was Ethan was born at 35w + 6d and although it was all systems go the day I was being induced, I was taken through the special care nursery to prepare us for a small baby and the breathing problems and a few other things. He was born healthy, breathed alone from when he came out, had no lung problems or anything else. He just looked like every other baby there except he was about 2kg less than most!!

I know I am no professional, but I just wanted to add a positive experience in here

I hope she hasn't scared you, but just remember there are alot of babies born before 39 weeks safely, after all there is a reason they say you are full term after 37 weeks.

I would be finding out why it was an option, then suddenly she has changed her mind?

i don't have any experience c/s wise but the girls were induced 37+3 at 5lb 6 and 5lb 12 - no sucking/breathing issues, rooming in straight away.

from my understanding c/s are being scheduled more around 39w now to minimise any potential for respiratory distress as the fluid isn't being expelled the way it is in a vaginal delivery.

Agreed.

I am not sure about inductions, but I thought the general rule with elective c-secs was to schedule them in at around 39 weeks in order to reduce the possibility of Mums going into labour naturally.

My first bub was born at 39 weeks exactly & ended up arriving via emergency c-sec and she was perfectly healthy & a great weight.

I am having an elective c-sec for my second & am scheduled to have it one week before my due date.

Ewan was born by elective c-sec at 38w5days due to being breech and didn't have a single issue.....

This is what a few of my friends IRL who have elective ceasers are being told know, previously they were bringing their baby to them at 38 weeks, and now they are waiting until 39 weeks if possible. And for this reason, because of the difference between the two delieveries and potential resp issues

Does anyone know why there is a difference between 38 and 39 weeks in this scenario. I understand that sectioned babies are more likely to have excess fluid in their lungs and therefore need to be suctioned/require breathing support however, I am curious about what the difference the extra week in utero makes to this scenario? Just curious as I have a friend who is booked in at 38 weeks unless her baby turns between now and then (she's 36 weeks and her baby is a transverse lie) - she's keen to push it out for another week in case her baby miraculously decides to budge but her obs seems unconvinced so I thought this info might help her cause.

Hi girls

No there are no other medical issues at play. Its funny you all mention the fluid on the lungs - as our first bub had these issues within the first few hours after csec delivery - and he was born at 42wks not 39wks. Guess my point being it can happen at any stage.

Either way this bub is coming out when its baked

Max was elective c-sect (breech) at 38+2 and was 3.7kg and perfect !

This bub has been booked for eviction at 38 weeks as well

It's purely a maturity thing. Plus the fact that there are variables as far as dates go - it's not uncommon to be +/- a week either side of your estimated due date and deliver a term baby.

From personal experience, 37-38 weekers who are sectioned commonly have to spend some time in SCN post-delivery, and often need to go to NICU for cpap support. When I say commonly I mean 10-20% probably. Their little lungs just aren't quite ready to work yet, and if there is no labour then the hormones that mature things during labour and delivery don't get to bubs. We always prepare for an admission spot when we have an elective 37-38 week section, and way too often we end up using it.

I was intrigued by your post on page 1, too, Kookies.



On what do you base this? Because I can tell you that with many years working in a level 4 NICU, my experience is the exact opposite. There's a window from 28-32 weeks where most kids seem to do well, and then the (newly born) 32-38 weekers forget how to breathe again until they get closer to term. Or by "significant lung issues" do you mean things beyond a bit of TTN or retained foetal lung fluid, that need more than a few hours of cpap to get them over the acute phase? Maybe you were referring to HMD or PPHN rather than these issues?

Oh my goodness I initially misread your post and thought you meant 10-20% of sectioned 37 -38 weekers needed CPAP . I almost had a heart attack as my daughter was supposed to be born in a private hospital that has a very high rate of c-sections - around 40%. Like most SCNs it didn't have CPAP facilities and I was thinking that 20% of babies were being transferred to tertiary hospitals! When you say 'often' do you have a gut feel for how many might end up in the NICU? I am curious as I was having a 'debate' with a girl friend about my reasons for wanting to have any future babies in a tertiary hospital - she thought I was being dramatic but there's another good reason for it!



Oh Primm, I am definitely not a medical expert and perhaps I used terms like rare etc a bit too liberally . I based my comments on my very worn "Parent Information Book" from the Newborn Care Centre my daughter was in. It says:

"If your baby is born before 32 or 33 weeks gestation there is a high likelihood that she will need help with breathing. This is because babies born very early tend to have immature lungs. Babies born after this gestation may require some breathing support for a short period of time but many will be able to breath unassisted from birth and require no breathing support during their stay in the Newborn Care Centre."

and later on...

"Our statistics show us that the majority of babies born after 34 weeks are admitted directly to our Special Care Nursery and do not need to spend time in the neonatal intensive care or high dependency units."

and in relation to the last bit:

"While babies in special care do not require breathing support and many do not need any monitoring, they are still carefully observed."

I'd forgotten, until I read your post about the "NICU acronym language" . I impressed myself a bit as I only had to look up persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn (something we thankfully didn't have to contend with).

I was always told that Anytime from 38 weeks was considered full term????? I guess the thinking could have changed since i had Audrey as it seems so many other things have...

Audrey was induced at 38 +3 and no problems whatsoever. Quite a few of my friends who have had their 2nd and 3rd children by C section have had them at 39 weeks and no probs????

I did a lot of reading on this one too when i had my second and it was going to be c-sect. I ended up asking for 39+3days i think (had to be particular days that they did planned c-sects) i chose the 39 over the 38 as i too had read and been told that there is a larger risk of breathing problems with those 1 week earlier and that it did make a difference statistics wise and that more Dr's were being advised to schedule for 39wk when possible (apart from health risks ofcourse). I also knew that my first sone was 9days overdue and when he was born by emergency c-sect they said he did not look overcooked at all, and that i bake longer, so i was more aware this bub was likely to be the same.

In the end bubs was diagnosed IUGR and c-sect took place at 37wks and my son ended up in Special care for 18hrs and nearly on CPAP due to snuffliness/ laboured breathing so it certainly can happen.

Personally i would choose 39wks, its only 1 wk later but to bubs it makes a difference especially if u arent 100% sure of dates. If you go into labour, unless u have other health risks they can still opt straight for the c-sect once u get there..good luck

I ended up having my second at 37+6 and I can see quit a differnce in a bigger more term baby this time.