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We tend to think of pregnancy as lasting for 9 months. But ideally, it should last for nearly 10 months. Research shows that babies are born healthier if they have at least 39 weeks to grow in the womb.
In recent years, there's been a trend toward earlier deliveries, as more women are choosing the date they'll give birth. This is known as an elective delivery. Studies suggest that the number of elective deliveries rose dramatically from 1990 to the mid-2000s.
If there's a particular medical reason to deliver early, then it's best not to wait, says Dr. Catherine Spong, a pregnancy expert at NIH. "But if the mother and baby are healthy, there's no benefit to delivering the baby early," she says. In fact, delivering early can create lasting health problems. Even women of advanced maternal age, older than 35, should wait until at least 39 weeks unless there are medical reasons to deliver early....