A caesarean section (cesarean section AE), is a surgical incision through a mother's abdomen (laparotomy) and uterus (hysterotomy) to deliver one or more fetuses. The caesarean is so-named because legend suggests this is the method by which the Roman dictator Julius Caesar was delivered.

There are two types of caesarean sections: the classical caesarean section, and the lower segment caesarean section. The classical section involves a midline longitudinal incision which allows a larger space to deliver the baby. The lower segment section, more commonly used today,involves a smaller transverse cut which results in less blood loss and is easier to repair.

In modern practice the father is usually encouraged to attend the caesarian section to support and share the experience with his partner. The anaesthetist will usually lower the drape temporarily as the child is delivered so the parents can see their newborn. This is the view that the father can expect of their newborn child. The mother's view is similar but from a lower angle.

Caesarean sections are more prevalent among women who are older, obese or suffering from pre-eclampsia or eclampsia, or have a large fetus, had a previous caesarean, or have received fertility drugs which may cause the mother to carry several offspring simultaneously.

Indications

Obstetricians recommend caesarean section when vaginal delivery might pose a risk to the mother or baby. Possible reasons for Caesarean delivery include:

• prolonged labour (or failure to progress)
• apparent fetal distress
• apparent maternal distress or complications such as pre-eclampsia, eclampsia
• multiple births
• breech presentation or the baby is in transverse lie
• failed induction of labour
• failed instrumental delivery
• the baby is too large
• the mother has a low-lying placenta or placenta praevia
• contracted pelvis
• evidence of intrauterine infection

Risks

Statistics from the 1990s suggest that less than one woman in 2,500 who has a caesarean section will die, compared to a rate of one in 10,000 for a vaginal delivery.[1] (http://www.childbirth.org/section/risks.html). However the mortality rate for both continues to drop steadily. The UK National Health Service gives the risk of death for the mother as three times that of a vaginal birth. [2] (http://www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk/en.asp?TopicID=85&AreaID=4414&LinkID=3489) However, it is not possible to directly compare the mortality rates of vaginal and caesarean deliveries as women having the surgery are known to be at higher risk.

Prevalence

The World Health Organisation estimates that the rate of caesarian sections at between 10% and 15% of all births in developed countries compared to about 20% in the United Kingdom and 23% in the United States. In 2003, the Canadian caesarian section rate was 21%, with regional variations.

Concerns have been raised in recent years that the procedure is frequently performed for reasons other than medical necessity. Organisations have been formed to make the public aware of caesarean operations and their dramatically increased incidence. Attendance by a midwife and out-of-hospital labor are associated with much lower rates of caesarean section, when controlled for all relevant maternal and fetal indicators.

Anaesthesia

The mother usually receives regional anaesthesia (spinal or epidural), allowing her to remain awake for the delivery and avoiding sedation of the infant.

In modern practice, general anesthesia for caesarean section is becoming increasingly rare as scientific research has now clearly established the benefits of regional aneasthesia for both the mother and baby.

Vaginal births after caesarean

Vaginal births after caesarean (VBAC) are not uncommon today. In the past, caesarean sections used a vertical incision which cut the uterine muscle fibers. Modern caesareans typically involve a horizontal incision along the muscle fibers. The uterus then better maintains its integrity and can tolerate the strong contractions of future childbirth. Cosmetically the scar for modern caesareans is below the "bikini line".

Obstetricians differ on the relative merits of vaginal and caesarian birth following a caesarean birth. Some still recommend a caesarian routinely, others do not; still others respect the wishes of the expectant mother.

History

Caesarean sections are so-named because, according to folklore, this is the method by which the Roman dictator Julius Caesar was delivered. However there is evidence that his mother was still alive when he was an adult, and given that at the time the procedure would have almost certainly resulted in the death of the mother, it is more likely that it is so named because it first came into use in the time of Caesar. There is also evidence, however, that Caesar had Marfan Syndrome, an inherited disease that can cause death during childbirth. If his mother had Marfan's, he may have been cut from her dying body. The ancient Romans did have a law called Lex Caesare literally "to cut". A dying woman in the latter stages of pregnancy would have a baby removed before she died on her own.

The first recorded incidence of a woman surviving a caesarean section was in Germany in 1500: Jacob Nufer, a pig gelder, is supposed to have performed the operation on his wife after a prolonged labor. European travelers in the Great Lakes region of Great Lakes region of Africa during the nineteenth century observed caeserean sections being performed on a regular basis. The expectant mother was normally anesthetized with alcohol and herbal mixtures were used to encourage healing. From the well-developed nature of the procedures employed, European observers concluded that they had been employed for some time.

On March 5, 2000, Ines Ramirez performed a caesarean section on herself and survived, as did her son, Orlando Ruiz Ramirez. She is believed to be the only woman to have performed a successful caesarean section on herself.

Caesareans in fictional

A Caesarean section appears in Shakespeare's play Macbeth. Macbeth faces a prophesized enemy not of woman-born, an impossibility but that MacDuff was "from his mother's womb untimely ripp'd," the product of a caesarean section birth.

The stillborn child of character Catherine Barkley is delivered by caesarean section in the Hemingway novel A Farewell to Arms.

External links

• Caesareans and VBACs FAQ (http://www.plus-size-pregnancy.org/CSANDVBAC/csvbacindex.html): a private research site
• C-section recovery (http://www.csectionrecovery.com/), practical tips
• VBAC Backlash (http://www.slate.com/id/2111499/)"Why are hospitals forbidding women who have had C-sections the right to have vaginal births?" Slate, Dec. 2004

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