Published on February 10th, 2012 | by Kim LaCapria
0C-Section Delivery May Pose Risk to Small Babies, Researchers Say
To operate or not to operate seems to be the question in many labor & delivery wards nowadays, and caesarian section rates in the US are comparatively high when contrasted with other countries.
And while c-sections are often viewed as the least risky option for high-risk deliveries, new research has indicated that smaller babies may not be better off exiting through the window instead of the door. Dr. Katherine Economy of Brigham and Women’s hospital said that the risk of major abdominal surgery may be understated when considering birth options, and that breathing difficulties are a specific consideration for smaller babies. Economy says:
“People have over time forgotten the magnitude of the risk… when they’re born via c-section, they don’t have that time, or that process and so many times, the lungs just aren’t quite ready.”
It’s theorized that something about vaginal delivery may assist in working fluid out of the lungs of infants, and Economy says that perhaps doctors should be “thinking about babies small for gestational as perhaps better able to tolerate labor than we originally thought.”