Question about scheduled c-sections

[OtherMother'n'Madre]

I don't understand this so maybe someone can enlighten me.

Why do doctors seem to schedule (not always but all the stories I know of are this way.......except for me....my mom was late with me! :LOL) c-sections BEFORE 40 weeks? I read constantly about them taking place anywhere from 36-38 weeks. I rarely read about a 40 week one. Is it to make sure the mom does not spontaneously go into labour? What is the rational behind taking a baby early (when there are all sorts of issues with a baby being born early anyways...c-section or not).

[Sagesgirl]

It is so labor doesn't start first. To be completely realistic, there is very little chance of complications with a baby born at 38 weeks gestation, though of course there are always exceptions to the rule. I have recently heard of many hospitals/doctors that consider 37 weeks "term", & the military tends to consider 36 weeks term. If a woman has decided to have an ERC in order to avoid the possibility of uterine rupture, then she's not going to want to go into labor beforehand (yes, I know, most catastrophic uterine rupture happens before labor). Of course, there are any number of other reasons for scheduling a c-section, both good & bad, but the name of the game is to have the OR and all necessary staff ready & waiting, which isn't going to happen with a section where you let the mama go into labor on her own. So if you err on the side of going slightly "early", the risks of complications from that are minute, and you avoid the percieved risks of waiting for nature to take its course.