According to the research in the current issue of the Canadian Medical Association Journal, for healthy women, Caesarean section may appear three times more dangerous than natural childbirth.
The investigators compared 46 766 Caesareans to over two million vaginal births among healthy Canadian women. The research discovered that women who had C-sections were at three times greater risk of experiencing serious complications, such as infections, blood clots, hysterectomies and heart attacks, the Toronto Star informed.
The rate of complication among women who experienced C-sections was 27.3 per 1 000 deliveries, in comparison with nine per 1 000 for women who had a natural delivery. The scientists restricted their research to outcomes among the mothers and did not look at how C-section influenced the newborns.
"Look, Caesarean section is not just like falling off a log," Dr Robert Liston, a lead author of the research, told the Star. "There are some health issues that appears as consequences of the operation, considerably more so than a planned vaginal delivery."
The results of the study should be considered when women consult their healthcare professionals about Caesarean delivery, added Linton, head of obstetrics and gynaecology at the University of British Columbia.
