Post-caesarean delivery: easier choice for women and reduced risks

(Image: Pixabay CC0) - An intervention developed at Laval University makes it possible to offer the right type of delivery, to the right patient, at the right time. Women who have already had a caesarean section can now benefit from an intervention that makes it easier to decide whether to have a vaginal birth or a caesarean section in a subsequent pregnancy. This intervention results in a 28% reduction in serious complications for babies and a 48% reduction in serious complications for mothers, demonstrates an international research team in a study published online December 11 by the journal The Lancet . "Every year in Canada, 45,000 pregnant women who have already had a C-section have to make a difficult decision: whether to plan another C-section or attempt a vaginal birth. It's not an easy choice, because both options carry risks for the mother and the child", points out the study's first author, Nils Chaillet , professor at Laval University's Faculty of Medicine and researcher at the Centre de recherche du CHU de Québec - Université Laval. Professor Chaillet and his colleagues from Quebec, the USA and France tested an intervention, called PRISMA, on 10,514 pregnant women who had previously given birth by caesarean section. The incidence of childbirth complications in these women was compared with that of a comparably sized group of women who had also previously given birth by caesarean section, but who did not benefit from the intervention.