Top Docs Debate Elective C-Sections

A record number of pregnant women are giving birth by Caesarean section, with almost three in 10 women going that route. Many women today are choosing the surgical procedure even when it's not medically necessary.

The National Institutes of Health convened a panel of experts this week to take a closer look at the risks and benefits of C-sections, as opposed to traditional vaginal births. Dr. Catherine Spong of the National Institute of Child Health & Human Development took part.

She told co-anchor Rene Syler on The Early Show Thursday: "What was wonderful about this meeting we just had is the experts could put together the best available information we have on the risks and benefits for the short term, for the long term and for the mom and the baby."

"Women choose (C-sections) for a number of reasons," Spong said. "Some women want to time their delivery. Some women are concerned, or have a fear of childbirth, or experiencing labor itself. And some women have specific concerns, about incontinence or other things … such as … the baby going through the labor process."

C-sections reduce the chance of incontinence — but, Spong points out, only for the mother. The data that's available is really only up to about a year of an improvement. In the long-term, as an older woman, there is no improvement over vaginal delivery birth.

C-sections, notes Spong, "also prevent certain birth injuries, such as asphyxia and injuries to the nerves of the baby's arms. But those are very rare."

On the other hand, Spong says, C-sections are considered major surgery and carry significant risks. These include infection, as well as transition problems for the baby — meaning the baby has difficulty adapting to life outside the womb.

"Often, it will happen where the baby has difficulty breathing, has respiratory distress," Spong observed. "It's because the baby hasn't gone through the birth process, hasn't been exposed to the hormones that go on during labor and the chest hasn't been compressed as it was being delivered."

C-sections also carry risks for future pregnancies, Spong said. "The more Caesarean births a woman has, the higher her complications are. A woman who's had a Caesarean delivery is at much higher risk for uterine rupture and for having problems with the placenta implanting abnormally, and sometimes even growing into the wall of the uterus, requiring even potentially a hysterectomy in a subsequent pregnancy."

Bottom line? Spong stressed that "it's critical for a patient to be able to discuss with her doctor about what these risks are if she's interested in having a Caesarean."