Cesarean section. Is the choice justified? Risks to children’s health

Abstract

Operative delivery is one of the preventive measures to reduce maternal and perinatal mortality. Due to objective reasons, the indicators of perinatal and early neonatal deaths of children in the Russian Federation have been steadily declining over the past decades. Operative delivery is one of the preventive measures to reduce maternal and perinatal mortality. However, it is necessary to take into account the risks of operative delivery for both mother and baby. The planned caesarean section does not allow to fully activate the adaptive mechanisms of the baby, which disrupts the cytokine cascade and leads to various immunological disorders, one of which is allergy. The last meta-analysis of 13 trials showed a high risk of developing bronchial asthma in children born by cesarean section. Autoimmune diseases, oncological processes and systemic diseases is clearly in evidence in this group. This article discusses the risks for children born by planned cesarean section in the short and long term and the possibility of prevention according to modern trials.