A controversial study showing the benefits of caesarean delivery is driving a growing number of requests for this procedure from he althy pregnant women.
Study Results to Consider
However, the medical community has good reason to believe that the results of this study are only preliminary, have been exaggerated, and are causing many women to choose a procedure that could put them at greater risk in the long term. The study focuses on pelvic floor injuries. It is a disorder that commonly affects women who have given birth and can lead to incontinence, nerve damage and, in rare cases, the uterus to collapse or shift. This study, published in 2002, revealed that women who give birth by elective caesarean are less likely to have incontinence than women who give birth vaginally.
There was a time when a caesarean section was a doctor's last resort, which he used only if a normal delivery was considered impossible or very dangerous. Nowadays, it is a common and safe procedure, which moremore women ask for non-medical reasons (fear of vaginal birth or desire to predict the date of birth of the baby). However, in the absence of a valid medical reason, doctors generally recommend avoiding caesarean section, as it can lead to side effects such as complications in a subsequent pregnancy, damage to adjacent organs, and even even a hysterectomy. Despite all these risks, however, many women and doctors cite the results of this research and the possibility of pelvic floor injuries and incontinence disorders to justify the use of cesarean section.
Weigh the risks
Lately, however, new studies have cast doubt on the results of this study. Although it seems to be true that in the short term incontinence can be prevented by elective caesarean section, other studies have shown that incontinence can be caused by either method. Childbirth and caesarean section reduce the risk only marginally. It has been estimated that to prevent one case of incontinence (a very common occurrence in women), at least 35 Caesarean sections would be required. Another article determined that the number of C-sections would have to be increased by 300% to reduce the overall rate of incontinence in women by just four percent (33% to 29%). Other studies have shown that other symptoms of pelvic floor injury, such as nerve damage and displacement of the uterus,were more likely to occur after childbirth, but choice of delivery method made little difference in risk.
Despite these new results, the original study continues to be used by patients and physicians to request or justify the practice of elective caesarean section. Incontinence is, obviously, an embarrassing and unpleasant problem; however, women who use it to justify caesarean section expose themselves to the risk of serious complications in subsequent pregnancies, complications that can lead to sterility. It is very expensive to pay for a procedure that is based on very little.
