Nearly a third of all babies in the United States are delivered by cesarean section (C-section). And the increasing number is leading some health professionals to wonder and debate about how many of these major surgeries are really medically necessary.
Now, a new study suggests that C-sections may be contributing to some babies being born too soon.
Researchers from the March of Dimes, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine found that from 1996 to 2004, preterm (or premature) "singleton births" (of one baby) went up by 10% — or 60,000. (The researchers focused on single births instead of multiples, which make C-sections much more likely and necessary.)
And, according to the study, most of those single premature deliveries — a staggering 92% — were by C-section, with the majority being born late preterm (between 34 and 36 weeks).
Although C-sections are often performed for certain high-risk pregnancies or emergency deliveries, when a woman has a scheduled (or elective) C-section that isn't medically required there's always the risk of giving birth to a late preterm baby. That's because the due date (also called the expected delivery date, or EDD) may be wrong.
Here's why: Your doctor calculates your due date by looking ahead to 40 weeks from the first day of your last menstrual period (LMP). But if you had period irregularities before getting pregnant, or you just can't quite remember exactly when your last period started, you may give the doctor the wrong date for your last menstrual period — which means your due date would be wrong, too.
And when babies are born late preterm they're at increased risk for problems like:
- jaundice
- trouble feeding
- problems with breathing
- difficulty maintaining body temperature
- delays in brain development
- even death
What This Means to You?
It may be tempting to try to schedule your baby's "birth day" and avoid the uncertainty and pain of labor, but the fact is a C-section is considered a major surgery. And, like any operation, C-sections come with risks.
On top of the potential of having a late preterm baby, other possible problems associated with C-sections include:
increased bleeding
infection
bladder or bowel injury
reactions to medications
blood clots
possible injury to the baby
death (very rare)
That's why C-sections are generally only scheduled for women who:
- are having a high-risk pregnancy (that is, they may be expecting multiples or have a medical condition that would make a vaginal delivery risky)
- have had previous C-sections (although many women can safely deliver vaginally after a C-section)
- have problems with the placenta like placenta previa (when the placenta sits too low in the uterus and covers the cervix)
- are pregnant with babies that have certain birth defects
- have babies in a breech or sideways position
As scary and overwhelming as it can be, women with a vaginal delivery:
are far less likely to get an infection or experience dangerous bleeding
can come home sooner
usually recover much quicker
If you're interested in having a C-section instead of a vaginal birth, be sure to discuss the possible risks in detail with your doctor.
Researchers from the March of Dimes, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine found that from 1996 to 2004, preterm (or premature) "singleton births" (of one baby) went up by 10% — or 60,000. (The researchers focused on single births instead of multiples, which make C-sections much more likely and necessary.)
And, according to the study, most of those single premature deliveries — a staggering 92% — were by C-section, with the majority being born late preterm (between 34 and 36 weeks).
Although C-sections are often performed for certain high-risk pregnancies or emergency deliveries, when a woman has a scheduled (or elective) C-section that isn't medically required there's always the risk of giving birth to a late preterm baby. That's because the due date (also called the expected delivery date, or EDD) may be wrong.
Here's why: Your doctor calculates your due date by looking ahead to 40 weeks from the first day of your last menstrual period (LMP). But if you had period irregularities before getting pregnant, or you just can't quite remember exactly when your last period started, you may give the doctor the wrong date for your last menstrual period — which means your due date would be wrong, too.
And when babies are born late preterm they're at increased risk for problems like:
- jaundice
- trouble feeding
- problems with breathing
- difficulty maintaining body temperature
- delays in brain development
- even death
What This Means to You?
It may be tempting to try to schedule your baby's "birth day" and avoid the uncertainty and pain of labor, but the fact is a C-section is considered a major surgery. And, like any operation, C-sections come with risks.
On top of the potential of having a late preterm baby, other possible problems associated with C-sections include:
increased bleeding
infection
bladder or bowel injury
reactions to medications
blood clots
possible injury to the baby
death (very rare)
That's why C-sections are generally only scheduled for women who:
- are having a high-risk pregnancy (that is, they may be expecting multiples or have a medical condition that would make a vaginal delivery risky)
- have had previous C-sections (although many women can safely deliver vaginally after a C-section)
- have problems with the placenta like placenta previa (when the placenta sits too low in the uterus and covers the cervix)
- are pregnant with babies that have certain birth defects
- have babies in a breech or sideways position
As scary and overwhelming as it can be, women with a vaginal delivery:
are far less likely to get an infection or experience dangerous bleeding
can come home sooner
usually recover much quicker
If you're interested in having a C-section instead of a vaginal birth, be sure to discuss the possible risks in detail with your doctor.
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Tagged underpremature birthcesarean sectionjaundicedelaysc-sectionsbowel injurymajor surgerymenstrual periodperiod irregularities
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