Faced with the increase in the number of cesarean sections, and in particular the number of so-called “comfort” cesarean sections, Danish researchers wanted to clarify the possible negative effects of the cesarean section on the health of mother and child.
They carried out a cohort study using data from the Danish National Register listing, among other things, 833,000 women who gave birth to a first child alive between January 1982 and December 2010. They separated them into two groups: caesarean delivery and vaginal birth, and followed them until the next birth.
According to this Danish study, published online at Plos One Medicine, when a woman opts for cesarean section during her first pregnancy, she is at risk of complications in subsequent pregnancies.
In 1982, 13% of women gave birth by upper route. In 2010, they were 23%. Yet women who deliver by cesarean section have a 14% increased risk of giving birth to a stillborn child in the next pregnancy, according to the study. The risk of ectopic pregnancy is also 9% higher. On the other hand, there does not seem to be a “ur-risk” of miscarriage.
In France, nearly one in 5 women gives birth to her baby by Caesarean section. In less than half of cases, the cesarean is scheduled: this is the case when the placenta is badly positioned or when difficulties are foreseeable and likely to have consequences on the health of the child or mother. According to the latest recommendations from the Haute Autorité de santé, the use of a scheduled cesarean delivery must be exceptional. Thus, a scarred uterus, breech presentation or twin pregnancy are not indications for a planned cesarean section.