http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_56908.html
Reuters Health
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Compared with vaginal deliveries, cesarean deliveries have twice the risk of complications and deaths of both infants and mothers when the fetus is in the normal, head-down position, according to findings from a study conducted in Latin America.
However, if the fetus is turned around - in the breech position - the benefits of cesarean delivery outweigh the risks, Dr. Jose Villar, at the University of Oxford in the UK, and associates report in BMJ Online First.
[For what it's worth, and without having taken a look at this study yet but having read another study regarding the safety of breech births, I wonder how many of the deliveries had care providers who were trained in breech births? There is a technique to this, but many OBs are no longer trained in how to handle this, which may segregate the "safe" breech births from the "risky" ones...]
The rising rates of cesarean deliveries in recent years are not explained by any clear benefits to the baby or mother, the authors note. "There is therefore an urgent need to provide women and care providers with information on the potential individual risks and benefits associated with cesarean delivery."
SOURCE: BMJ Online First, October 31, 2007.
Reuters Health
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