Caesarean babies at higher risk of health problems: Study
Risks include hypothermia, respiratory infections, metabolic disorders, obesity and eczema.
Chennai: Caesarean babies are at a higher risk of health complications, reveals a study published in journal Birth. Caesarean babies were found to have a higher chance of developing respiratory infections, metabolic disorders, obesity, diabetes and eczema.
The study was done on more than a lakh newborns of healthy women with full-term pregnancies without complications aged between 20 and 35.
The outcomes stated that children born through medical interventions such as caesarean sections had a three times higher risk of various health problems.
Children from instrumental birth could develop hypothermia following birth up to five years of age and metabolic disorders, while obesity and diabetes could affect them later in the life.
With an increase in higher caesarean section rates these days, medicos stress on long-term outcomes of medical interventions. “The number of caesarean sections for delivery has increased manifold in last few years to ease the delivery process, but the adverse effects last throughout the life not only for the mother, but also the child. Pregnancy and delivery is a natural process and medical interventions change the naturality of the process,” said obstetrician Dr A. Shanti.
Medicos blame sedentary lifestyle for an increased rate of caesarean sections, which could later cause health problems such as jaundice, eczema and respiratory problems.
“We see more women coming with moving head and cephalopelvic disproportion, which is mostly due to sedentary lifestyle, and does not end in normal labour. To end the complications associated, medicos opt for caesarean sections,” says Dr Mala Raj, consultant gynecologist, Firm Hospitals.
“The short-term outcomes of a medical intervention for delivery process that could harm the child are known, but medicos often neglect the long-term outcomes. The high rate of caesarean births also increases the need to research more on the risk of developing health problems over long-term period,” adds Dr Mala.