Caesarean section

A caesarean section (cesarean section AE), or C-section, is a form of childbirth in which a surgical incision is made through a mother's abdomen (laparotomy) and uterus (hysterotomy) to deliver one or more babies. It is usually performed when a vaginal delivery would lead to medical complications.

Risks

Statistics from the 1990s suggest that less than one woman in 2,500 who has a caesarean section will die, compared to a rate of one in 10,000 for a vaginal delivery.http://www.childbirth.org/section/risks.html. However the mortality rate for both continues to drop steadily. The UK National Health Service gives the risk of death for the mother as three times that of a vaginal birth. http://www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk/en.asp?TopicID=85&AreaID=4414&LinkID=3489

Related Topics:
1990s - Mortality rate - UK - National Health Service

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However, it is not possible to directly compare the mortality rates of vaginal and caesarean deliveries as women having the surgery are often those who were at a higher risk anyway.

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Babies born by Caesarian often have some initial trouble breathing. In addition, because the baby will be drowsy from the pain medication administered to the mother, and because the mother's mobility is reduced, breast-feeding may be difficult.

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A Caesarean section is a major operation, with all that that entails. Pain at the incision can be intense, and full recovery of mobility can take several weeks or more.

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A prior Caesarean section increases the risk of uterine rupture during subsequent labour.

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For more information see http://www.pregnancy-info.net/c-section_recovery.html.

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