Panel finds C-section risks, benefits

WASHINGTON – Caesarean sections are not necessarily riskier than vaginal deliveries and may be safer in some ways for the mother and baby in many cases, an influential expert panel concluded Wednesday.

The panel convened by the National Institutes of Health did not endorse delivering babies by the surgical procedure, but the experts found no clear reason to routinely discourage women from choosing that option, which continues to grow in popularity. The findings contrast with decades of medical advice aimed at trying to reduce the number of Caesareans, which for years were seen as unnecessary, costly and potentially risky.

Overall, the panel found current scientific evidence is insufficient to recommend for or against doing Caesareans on demand, saying the available studies suggest both risks and benefits. Caesareans should not be done until the baby’s lungs have developed sufficiently or on women planning to have more than two or three children, the panel concluded. But the experts said the procedure is an acceptable option for women planning only one or two children, especially those in their 40s.

“We think it’s reasonable if a woman wants to bring this up with her physician that they have a full discussion,” said Mary D’Alton of Columbia University Medical Center in New York, who chaired the panel. “It should be discussed with the woman and her decision should be honored.”

The report was praised by advocates of giving women more of a choice in how they deliver their babies and denounced by opponents who argue Caesareans are dangerous and overused. Both sides said they expected the report would prompt more women to request the procedures, more doctors to honor those requests and more insurance companies to pay for them.

More than 1 million of the 4 million babies born each year in the United States are delivered by Caesarean, which involves removing the baby from the womb through an incision in the mother’s abdomen. The procedure was developed primarily to deliver babies in situations where the mother or child is experiencing complications that put one or both at risk.