Electing to have a caesarean birth following one prior caesarean can lower the risk of serious complications for infants, new research shows.
For mothers who had previously had one caesarean, infants who were delivered vaginally were at a higher risk of serious complications, including death, than infants born to women who had a planned elective repeat caesarean. The risk of death or serious complication for the baby is 2.4% for a planned vaginal birth, compared with 0.9% for a planned elective repeat caesarean.
Mothers in the study who had planned elective repeat caesareans were also less likely to suffer a major haemorrhage than those who had a vaginal delivery following a prior caesarean.
The study involved more than 2,300 women and their babies and 14 Australian maternity hospitals.
Read more at University of Adelaide