Caesarean benefits and risks FOR BABY

[iaMHannah91]

I'd like to start by saying that there are enough threads which talk about all of the risks of caesarean birth for the mother. From my research, all of these risks are acceptable to me, so I don't want to go down that windy path!

Other than to say, in my comparison list, the only benefit of VB over an ELCS (for the mother) that I could think of was "quicker recovery". Are there other benefits which I'm overlooking???

However, what I'd like to ask about are the possible benefits and risks to the baby? I'd like that to be the priority in forming my decision, but there isn't too much talk on the matter!

So far, I've only been able to identify the removal of several VB risks as the benefit of a CS, but wondered if anyone knew of any others?

I have a referal for the birth choices clinic in a couple of weeks and would like to see if there are any other risks/benefits that I might want to add to my list before this appointment.

** It may also be useful to know that my current plan is for a maternal request ELCS on the basis of the removal of risks to the baby such as distress during the birth (getting stuck, lack of oxygen, difficulty passing through the birth canal), together with the risks to my mental health (I have severe anxiety) that would result from a traumatic birth experience. Amongst other things!

Bc the babies don’t go through the birth canal they don’t get the first bacteria needed to populate their gut (yikes I know but necessary)

It gives them some risks, like increased risks for eczema and others, you can look it up.

I know a few consultants who privately think all births should he CS. The reason being complications in labour eg lack of oxygen.

This is a really interesting thread, thanks for starting. Holding a place to check back in if there's more responses

My DH was a C-section and he was in a incubator for 2 weeks afterward because of fluid on his lungs which can be more likely to happen with a csection because all the fluid isn’t squeezed out in the same way.

He doesn’t has asthma or anything now but those first 2 weeks were quite distressing for his family.

Thanks all for the advice and feedback!

I hope it was a useful discussion for others as well.

I considered this with dc2 because I had emcs with dc1 and was able to choose elcs or Vbac. I wasn’t bothered about the risks to me but was interested in the risks to baby. Overall, I felt that after having a previous failed labour, it was safer for baby if I did the elcs. There was a slight issue with the breathing- she had to have some hep for a few mins when first born but otherwise no breathing issues. They also had to use forceps on her because she was so far down the birth canal but aside from a bit of a bruise she was ok. I felt it was the right choice for me and I recovered quite quickly too, far quicker than with the emcs