Umbilical cord blood gas content, postnatal state of neonates, and lactation after caesarean and natural childbirth

Abstract

In recent years the number of Caesarean sections (C-section) has been rapidly increasing. One of the reasons behind this is the fact that the scope of indications for these operations is still widening. The purpose of this article was to present a comparative analysis of the umbilical cord blood gas content, the state of infants, assessed by the Apgar score, and the course of lactation after elective C-sections or natural childbirth. We found that PO2 in the cord blood after natural delivery was appreciably higher than that after C-section. The neonates delivered in a natural way also had an appreciably better Apgar score compared with those after C-section. Compared to mothers who delivered their babies in a natural way, it takes a longer time for C-sectioned women to commence breastfeeding. We conclude that a lower PO2 level in the umbilical cord blood in women subjected to C-section may stem from breathing disorders in neonates at the time of delivery. The way of ending pregnancy has an apparent influence on adaptive abilities of infants to live outside mother's womb. © 2013 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht.