This large study had interesting results that were completely unexpected on my part. It looks at the outcomes of second births after either planned or emergency caesareans occurred in the first births. The outcomes were improved in the group of 29,664 mothers who had previously had an emergency caesarean. The group of 11,445 mothers who had had a planned caesarean had: 40% or 1.4 increased risk of experiencing a uterine rupture (0.24% vs. 0.16%); 50% or 1.5 increased risk of stillbirth for the next birth; 10% or 1.1 increased risk of postpartum haemorrhage The million dollar question: WHY?? Ill hypothesize and offer the explanation that the vaginal (normal) birth process, even when interrupted or partial, offers incompletely understood health benefits. Bypassing the birth process by performing a caesarean in the absence of labour puts moms and babies at risk for long-term health problems. It would seem from this study that mothers/babies who do need a caesarean birth should be encouraged to labour for a period of time beforehand whenever possible, rather than discouraged as they are now. onlinelibrary.wiley/doi/10.1111/1471-0528.12483/abstract?deniedAccessCustomisedMessage=&userIsAuthenticated=false
Posted on: Wed, 21 May 2014 10:24:47 +0000