Between a baby born via planned cesarean delivery and an emergency cesarean delivery, guess which one grows up healthier? According to a study published in the National Center for Biotechnology Information, U.S. National Library of Medicine, it's actually the latter.
Mothers who have experienced going on labor with the intention of giving birth naturally, but then underwent an emergency C-section, may have given their baby a healthy start compared to those who have scheduled cesarean procedure.
The researchers discovered that planned C-section deliveries, which takes place under very controlled conditions, have more cases of babies with health problems in their early life. Per New York Times, the experts said it is because the babies miss out on a few crucial physiological occurrences during a C-section. "Our thinking was: If a baby is born naturally, it comes into contact with the bacteria from the other, which might help with immune system development," said Dr. Mairead Black who led the study.
Undergoing the pain and struggle of a labor's early stages may be a torture for moms, but as the experts pointed out, it does puts the baby at an advantage. During labor, the mother releases fluids that help clear the baby's lungs. The whole process also cascades "physiological changes" between mother and child, with hormones and microbes that enhances the baby's immune systems. It's "a physiological process that we've evolved to over millions of years," said Dr. Aaron Caughey of the American College of Obstetricians. "It's been really well-designed by evolution," he added.
Previous studies have shown that babies born via C-section are likely to grow up obese, develop allergies and have higher risk for Type 1 diabetes, as previously reported on Parent Herald. The latest study findings are crucial because planned C-section cases are on the rise in the United States even if the pregnancy isn't considered high risk, per WebMD.
"When you don't wait for labor to begin on its own, you cut short all kinds of physiological changes and preparations for birth that are taking place toward the end of pregnancy," said Carol Sakala of the nonprofit Childbirth Connection in the same NY Times report.
"Some of the increase in elective cesareans is due to mother request, but I personally believe that group is a very small, very affluent subset of women and does not represent the desires or needs of most mothers," said Dr. Peter Bernstein in another WebMD report.
