C-Section Cannot Prevent Cerebral Palsy: Study

Australian researchers state that cerebral palsy cannot be prevented with caesarean deliveries.

The researchers at the University of Adelaide studied over 1.5 million births and they did not find any links between prevention of cerebral palsy and C-section deliveries.

In association with the Australian Collaborative Cerebral Palsy Research Group at the University's Robinson Institute, the scientists examined previous studies of more than 3,800 cerebral palsy cases and almost 1.7 million healthy children.

It was believed earlier that cerebral palsy was caused due to low oxygen supply to the baby during birth or trauma. 

"The simple facts are that over the last 40 years, cesarean rates have increased more than six-fold from 5 percent to 33 percent in Australia and in many other countries. However, the incidence of cerebral palsy has remained at 2-2.5 per 1000 births," said research leader Emeritus Professor Alastair MacLennan from the University of Adelaide's Robinson Institute.

Lead author and Affiliate Lecturer Dr Michael O'Callaghan explained that the mode of delivery had no bearing on the outcome of cerebral palsy, hence the medical fraternity needed to look further into the causes of the occurrence.

According to Emeritus Professor MacLennan the study findings are "clinically important". "This will influence cases of cerebral palsy litigation, where it is often claimed that earlier cesarean delivery would have avoided the cerebral palsy outcome," he said. "We now need to focus our efforts on finding the antenatal causes of cerebral palsy and their prevention. These may include genetic vulnerability and environmental triggers, such as infection.

"It should be noted that carefully selected cesarean delivery on occasions may prevent stillbirth or reduce the risk of other complications in the newborn, but it will not reduce the risk of cerebral palsy," he said.