Repeat Caesareans Linked to Neonatal Respiratory Problems

Other study finds rising prevalence of hypertensive disorders in delivery hospitalizations

WEDNESDAY, May 27 (HealthDay News) -- Infants born via elective repeat Caesarean delivery may face a higher risk of certain adverse outcomes, and the rate of delivery hospitalizations involving hypertensive disorders has risen significantly in recent years, according to two studies published in the June issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology.

In the first study, Beena D. Kamath, M.D., of the University of Colorado School of Medicine in Denver, and colleagues analyzed data from 672 women, who were divided into those planning an elective repeat Caesarean or a vaginal birth after Caesarean. Infants born by Caesarean had higher rates of admission to the neonatal intensive care unit compared to the other group (9.3 versus 4.9 percent), and higher rates of oxygen needed for delivery room resuscitation (41.5 versus 23.2 percent).

In the other study, Elena V. Kuklina, M.D., of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, and colleagues analyzed data from the 1998 to 2006 Nationwide Inpatient Sample of the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project. They found that among delivery hospitalizations, the overall prevalence of hypertensive disorders rose from 67.2 to 83.4 per 1,000 deliveries during this period.

"A substantial fraction of severe morbidity in the obstetric population could be avoided if these conditions, particularly severe preeclampsia, could be prevented. The increasing proportion of births to women at the older end of the reproductive spectrum and the increase in obesity among pregnant women may explain some fraction of this trend," Kuklina and colleagues conclude.

Abstract - Kamath
Full Text - Kamath
Abstract - Kuklina
Full Text - Kuklina (subscription or payment may be required)

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