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Cesarean Delivery Won't Harm Kids' Health
Still, too many babies are born that way, expert says
MONDAY, Oct. 12, 2015 (HealthDay News) -- In a study of more than 5,000 children, Australian researchers said they found that cesarean section delivery was not linked with a higher risk of health problems in childhood.
"This study suggests that some of the previously reported associations between birth by cesarean delivery and adverse childhood health outcomes may be explained by influences other than mode of birth," said lead researcher Elizabeth Westrupp, a research fellow in the School of Nursing at La Trobe University in Melbourne.
The researchers concluded that cesarean delivery was associated with a mix of positive and negative outcomes through early childhood, and few were consistent.
For example, the association between cesarean delivery and childhood obesity might actually be explained by the mother's obesity, Westrupp said.
"These findings should be reassuring to women and their doctors," she added.
The report was published online Oct. 12 in the journal Pediatrics.
For the study, Westrupp and her colleagues used data on more than 5,100 kids born in Australia in 2003 and 2004. The children were followed to the age of 7 years.
Specifically, researchers looked at overall health and conditions such as asthma and body weight. They also looked at medications children were taking, any disabilities or medical problems, and social and economic circumstances.
The researchers then adjusted their findings to take into account the mother's social environment and weight, and whether the child was breast-fed.
Initially, Westrupp's team found that children born by C-section were more likely to have a medical condition at age 2 or 3, use prescribed drugs at age 6 or 7, and to weigh more at age 8 or 9.
However, the child's excess body weight reflected the mother's obesity, not being born by C-section, Westrupp said.
And cesarean delivery was linked with better overall health at age 2 or 3 and better social skills at age 6 or 7, the researchers reported.
When Westrupp's group took into account factors not related to delivery method, the association between childhood health and C-sections tended to weaken even further.
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