Caesarean doubles risk of stillbirth for next child
Women who give birth by caesarean section run twice the risk of having a dead child in the next pregnancy, researchers reported yesterday. Although the risk of stillbirth later, it remains low at about one in 1100, the doctors say the finding could redefine the nature of the debate about caesarean sections, which have more than doubled in the last 20 years. Concerned by Caesarean section has focused on the immediate risks to mother and child. Problems with the development of the placenta in subsequent pregnancies were observed, but this is the first time the caesarean section was associated with an increased risk of stillbirth.Most caesarean sections are performed to avoid the complications of vaginal delivery, especially in a car seat, and the low additional risk of
stillbirth in a future pregnancy might influence decisions. But a growing number are carried out at the request of the mother, and not for medical reasons. A 2001 survey by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists found that 7 percent of cesarean delivery were, at the request of the mother, or about 2,400 a year. Today, more than 20 per cent of births are by Caesarean section, compared with 9 percent in 1980, obstetricians say that the pressure of the patients for cesarean section is increasing.Gordon Smith, Department of Obstetrics, University of Cambridge and colleagues who conducted the study, said in The Lancet: When women have a caesarean with no clear obstetric advantage, such as caesarean section for maternal request, to inform the potential impact the
risk of stillbirth in future pregnancies, unexplained should be discussed. The authors studied data from 120,000 births in Scotland between 1992 and 1998 and found that the risk of neonatal mortality by 34 weeks of gestation was 177 per 1,000 women who had a previous caesarean section, compared to 0.89 per 1,000 in women.The risks of dying in a breech vaginal birth is estimated at 8.9 in 1000 and the risk of stillbirth
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