Mamas giving birth by C-section have had to endure a lot of scaremongering about how sections are to be blamed for everything from autism to obesity and even food allergies.
But it looks like it might have all been in vain, as new research now shows that C-section births are in fact not associated with illness or health and development outcomes in children. This is a surprise turn as some previous research have warned that C-section births could be to blame for a litany of chronic health problems later in life, including conditions like asthma and even Type 1 diabetes.
But now researchers at La Trobe University in Melbourne, Australia, say they have managed to prove that this is not the case, much to the relief of the many mums around the world who give birth this way every year.
“This study does not support a strong association between cesarean delivery and poorer health or neuro-developmental outcomes in childhood,” the press release read.
In the study, over 5000 children were examined from birth until the age of seven, with the conclusion being that C-section births are not associated with increased health issues in childhood.
Researchers looked at conditions such as asthma and body weight, measuring outcomes against other factors such as medications the children were taking as well as social and economic factors. The finding: the poor health outcomes these children were experiencing were more likely to have been caused by other factors such as maternal health and lifestyle, not by the method of their birth.
Study lead author Dr Steve Robson says one of his main motivators for conducting the research was to ease the guilt some mothers feel. “The issue I wanted to address, in particular, was the situation where a woman had to have a Caesarean birth and felt guilty that she had somehow harmed her child in the long term. This study should provide a lot of reassurance to families that how the baby is born isn’t such a big issue in the long term, it is how the baby is loved.”
Does this mean that c-section births are just as safe as vaginal births? Robson says that all depends on the situation.
“For example, a very difficult forceps delivery of a vulnerable baby after a long labour is much more likely to harm a baby than a Caesarean section. On the other hand, if two healthy babies are born before 38 weeks, a child delivered by Caesarean section is more likely to have transient breathing problems than a baby born vaginally. It really depends on the situation. Sometimes a Caesarean section is safer for mother and baby, sometimes things would favour trying vaginal birth.”
Have YOU ever heard that C-sections are harmful to children? Did this in any way influence your feelings about having a C-section birth? Let me know at [email protected]
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