The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the Society for

Maternal-Fetal Medicine (2017b) recommend delaying nonmedically indicated

deliveries until 39 completed weeks of gestation or beyond. As shown in Figure 31-4,
significant and appreciable adverse neonatal morbidity has been reported with elective
delivery before 39 completed weeks (Chiossi, 2013; Clark, 2009). Thus, if ERCD is
planned, it is essential that the fetus be mature

The American Academy of Pediatrics and the American College of

Obstetricians and Gynecologists (2017) have established the following guidelines for
timing an elective cesarean delivery, and accurate gestational dating is suitable using
any of these criteria.
1. Sonographic measurements taken before 20 weeks’ gestation support a
gestational age ≥39 weeks.
2. Fetal heart sounds have been documented for 30 weeks by Doppler ultrasound.
3. A positive serum or urine β-human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) test result has
been documented for ≥36 weeks.