How does a c-section set a baby up for health issues down the line? It may have less to do with the surgery itself and more about the benefit of vaginal delivery. “It’s thought that by traveling through the vagina to be born, babies are exposed to all the healthy bacteria in their mother’s vagina, and that has immune-system benefits,” Dr. Mary Jane Minkin, clinical professor of ob-gyn at Yale School of Medicine, tells Yahoo Parenting. Cesearean babies don’t get this exposure, so they may be less protected against illness.

It’s important to note that Bluestein’s paper only looked at studies that show correlation; it doesn’t prove that being born via a cesarean is the cause of the health problems — which may be because less healthy women are more likely to have cesareans in the first place. The paper calls for more research, so doctors and midwives can inform expectant moms who are considering having an elective C-section about any risks.

But that begs the question: why are so many women having elective C-sections in the first place? In the United States, 2.5 percent of all cesareans are thought to be purely elective, according to Blustein. The rates are much higher in other countries around the world. In China, about 20 percent of C-sections are elective, as are 50 percent in Brazil.

Meanwhile, the World Health Organization recommends that 15 percent of deliveries should be via the surgeon’s scalpel, reports the paper. That’s because of side effects, such as an increased risk of placenta problems during a woman’s next pregnancy. Also, after a C-section, 90 percent of women have a cesarean for their next deliveries, Repeat C-sections pose much more of a health risk than the initial one, says Minkin.

“If a baby or mother is in jeopardy, of course a C-section is warranted,” says Minkin. “But only an idiot would have a purely elective C-section when she and her baby are in no danger.”

Source http://www.naitalk.com/ncomment.php?id=138

Ok. I hope mothers are reading this. But all in all sha, childbirth is no joke o. I hail all loving mamas in the house o.