Cesarean Risky to Newborn

Posted by Brenda Lane Jan 16, 2007

New research published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology (Dec. 2006) sheds light on the debate between the safety of the baby with cesarean birth versus vaginal birth.

Researchers studied a total of 18,653 births taken from the registry in Norway; 17,828 were planned vaginal births and 825 were planned cesareans during a six month period. 5.2% of the babies born vaginally were transferred to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) as compared to 9.8% of babies in the planned cesarean group. Also, lung disorders were higher in the cesarean group (1.6%) in comparison to the vaginal group (.8%).

Dr. Toril Kolas and colleagues say that, "for the child, the stress of vaginal delivery seems superior to elective cesarean delivery in many situations," Kolas and colleagues conclude. "Therefore, we emphasize the importance of limiting planned cesarean deliveries to cases with proven benefit for the mother and/or child," they write. "When a planned cesarean delivery is chosen, the operation should be as close to term as possible."

It is so important that all mothers weigh these options when they are considering a planned cesarean birth. For a complete list of the VBAC and cesarean articles on this site, click here.

What do you think about planned cesarean birth versus vaginal birth? Start a discussion on the forum.

Brenda