We looked at almost 300,000 births and found those mothers in the private system were more likely to have a caesarean – even if they didn’t really want or need one.
Many pregnant women who request planned caesarean deliveries are simply told no, despite guidelines advising doctors who disagree to offer referral or transfer care.
Compared to women who give birth in a birth centre, those who give birth in hospitals are much more likely to have interventions – from epidurals, to labour augmentation and caesarean deliveries.
James Young Simpson’s Caesarian forceps, Hunterian Museum, Glasgow.
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Childbirth used to be a terrifying ordeal. But women were surrounded by others – mothers, aunts, sisters – who brought love and experience. But midway through the 19th century, this changed.
Caesarean delivery alone does not contribute to the odds of a child developing autism or ADHD.
Aditya Romansa
A new study has found a link between being born by caesarean section and having a greater chance of being diagnosed with autism or ADHD. But there’s no evidence caesarean sections cause them.
What are the differences between planned assisted childbirth with midwife at home versus delivery with obstetrician at a hospital?
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Evidence suggests that microbes play a vital role in health. But what microbes we get depends whether we were born in a hospital versus at home. That could impact our health decades later.
Professional bodies say that vaginal births after caesareans are safe and usually successful. So why do doctors often recommend that women go back under the knife?
Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, arrives for her baby shower at the Mark Hotel on Feb. 19, 2019, in New York. She was rumoured to want to deliver her baby at home rather than in hospital.
(AP Photo/Kevin Hagen)
New study finds that giving birth through an emergency caesarean increases the risk of developing postnatal depression in the first nine months after childbirth by about 15%.
C-sections can have long-term complications for moms and babies.
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While childbirth is often a joyful event, it rarely unfolds exactly how we think it will. This causes disappointment among some women, and leaves a small proportion with a diagnosis of postnatal PTSD.
Intervention will sometimes be required in childbirth, but should only occur when medically necessary.
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Our study found babies born via medical or surgical intervention were at increased risk of health problems, from jaundice and feeding issues, to diabetes, respiratory infections and eczema.
SHARP Professor, leader of the Vitalities Lab, Centre for Social Research in Health and Social Policy Centre, UNSW Sydney, and leader of the UNSW Node of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society, UNSW Sydney