Vaginal birth is much safer than a C-section for most women and babies. Sometimes a C-section is the only safe option, like when the baby is positioned side-to-side in the belly (transverse lie) or the placenta is covering the cervix (placenta previa).
Having a C-section increases the risk of complications in a later pregnancy and in other surgeries. The more C-sections, the higher the risks of placenta previa and a condition in which the placenta becomes attached to the wall of the uterus (placenta accreta).
There are far fewer risks to your baby during a C-section. Babies delivered by cesarean are more likely to develop breathing issues, though, especially if your C-section is performed before 39 weeks. That's because labor helps clear your baby's lungs of fluid.
Vaginal delivery has a lower chance of scarring, severe bleeding, reactions to medications, and long-lasting pain. Since the mother is healthier and more active, the possibility of breastfeeding early on is more.
Babies born vaginally are thought to have an edge over those born via cesarean section. They pick up bacteria from their mother's birth canal, which scientists believe helps protect them from asthma, obesity, and other health issues as they grow older.
Children born by elective caesarean are calmer, researchers have found, exhibiting fewer behavioural and emotional problems than those born normally. They are much less likely to suffer from problems like anxiety, aggression and attention disorders, according to the Chinese study.
Children born via C-section had higher risks for all types of clinical infections, but it was most pronounced for gastrointestinal, respiratory, and viral infections.
In some situations, a C-section is not only preferable but mandatory—situations involving conditions like placenta previa, in which going into labor would precipitate life-threatening hemorrhaging, or cord prolapse, which can cause the death of a baby if a C-section is not performed in a manner of minutes.
For some women and babies, a c-section is safer than vaginal birth. If you have medical conditions that affect your pregnancy, you may need a c-section to protect the health of your baby. A c-section may be planned (also called scheduled).
Even though labor and vaginal birth can be hard work, they are generally easier on a woman's body than a cesarean. Recovery after vaginal birth is usually shorter and less painful than after a C-section, and allows the woman to spend more time with her baby.
A new study shows that a C-section can lead to complications should you find yourself back on the operation table later in life. Surgical complications cover a range of things that can go wrong during an operation. For example, damage to organs, infection, the need to re-operate, or bleeding during the operation.
Long-Term Effects of C-Sections
Children born by C-section also suffer increased rates of diseases, including asthma, type I diabetes, allergies, obesity, as well as reduced overall cognitive functioning and lower academic performance.
Lower pelvic dysfunction risk for mothers
Stock and colleagues summarize their findings: “We found that cesarean delivery is associated with reduced urinary incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse in the mother but with increased odds of asthma and obesity in the child.”
You will usually have a planned c-section at 39 weeks of pregnancy. The aim is to do the c-section before you go into labour. Babies born earlier than 39 weeks are more likely to need help with their breathing. Sometimes there's a medical reason for delivering the baby earlier than this.
Your doctor may suggest scheduling a C-section if you experience any of the following: Pre-Existing Conditions. Certain medical conditions, such as heart disease, preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, HIV, and genital herpes, can make vaginal labor dangerous for you and your baby. Cephalopelvic Disproportion (CPD).
Australia's caesarean section rate was higher than the OECD average over this time and ranked 27th out of 34 OECD countries in 2017, with a rate of 33.7 per 100 live births (ranked from lowest to highest) (OECD 2019). In 2020, 37% of all women giving birth in Australia had a caesarean section (AIHW 2022).
It's true that doctors do make more money from performing C-sections, but a breakdown of C-section costs shows that the difference isn't likely enough to have an influence.
Which Country Has the Most C-Sections Each Year? The country with the highest rate of C-sections each year is the country of Turkey, according to the most recent statistics. Those statistics are from 2019. In 2019, there were 544 Caesarian sections per 1,000 live births in the nation of Turkey.
You won't feel any pain during the C-section, although you may feel sensations like pulling and pressure. Most women are awake and simply numbed from the waist down using regional anesthesia (an epidural and/or a spinal block) during a C-section. That way, they are awake to see and hear their baby being born.
You Have a right to decline medical procedures
If a doctor tells you you have to have a c-section, you have the option to tell the doctor you will decline the procedure. You can also simply go to the hospital when you are in labor and decline the c-section then.
Most babies born via elective caesarean section breathe and cry vigorously at birth.
The C-section babies can display both irritability and increased likely hood of colic. Planned C-section babies are interestingly the most ratty and cranky babies I see. Scientific research absolutely confirms this showing that C-section deliveries cause a change to the friendly gut bacteria in the baby.
An altered microbiota in C-section births
Newborns delivered by C-section tend to harbor in their guts disease-causing microbes commonly found in hospitals (e.g. Enterococcus and Klebsiella), and lack strains of gut bacteria found in healthy children (e.g. Bacteroides species).
Previous research has hinted that babies delivered by c-section fail to acquire some of the microbes from their mothers that vaginally delivered children gain. This observation has led some parents to swab infants born by c-section with vaginal fluids, in an attempt to restore any missing microbes.
The cesarean delivery group in cohort 1 showed significantly lower white matter development in widespread brain regions and significantly lower functional connectivity in the brain default mode network, controlled for a number of potential confounders.