Infant and neonatal mortality rates are higher with voluntary caesarean sections than with vaginal births, according to a study published in the September issue of the journal Birth: Issues in Perinatal Care, the New York Times reports.
Marian MacDorman, a CDC statistician, and colleagues examined data on 5,762,037 live births and 11,897 infant deaths from 1998 through 2001 in the U.S. to assess the risk of death for infants and neonates as a result of voluntary c-sections among women with no indicated complications. Higher mortality rates associated with c-section deliveries previously have been attributed to higher risk factors of the pregnant woman, the Times reports. According to the researchers, the study is the first of its kind to assess the risks of c-section delivery among women who voluntarily undergo the procedure. C-section births in the U.S. increased from 20.7% in 1996 to 29.1% in 2004 (Bakalar, New York Times, 9/5).
Study Findings