Possible benefits & risks
What are the benefits of caesarean birth?
The possible benefits of caesarean birth
Unplanned and emergency caesarean birth can be a life-saving procedure for both the mother and baby.
The benefits of planned caesarean birth, will depend on your circumstances, concerns, priorities and plans for future pregnancies.
There is no high-quality evidence showing the benefits of planned caesarean birth for women or babies who do not require the procedure for a medical reason.
For women planning caesarean birth for no medical reason, there will be benefits and risks associated with both vaginal and caesarean birth. You will need to decide which are more (or less) acceptable to you.
We have summarised the risks and benefits of vaginal and caesarean birth according to the best available, but limited, evidence here. There are a large number of things that could be considered as potential benefits of either caesarean birth or vaginal birth. The NICE Caesarean Birth Guideline has more detailed evidence tables for 28 short and long-term outcomes that they believed were the most direct indicators of safety and would be the most informative for women’s decision-making. Further information can be found here NG192 Caesarean birth: Evidence review A 13/08/2024
These tables give summary estimates only and are intended to help discussions, but precise numerical risk estimates cannot be given for individual women.
During the development of the Birth-Options Caesarean Birth Core Information Set, the information women, midwives and doctors agreed it would be good for all women to know about the potential benefits of planned caesarean birth were:
You may feel more in control. There is less chance of instrumental vaginal birth or emergency caesarean birth. You avoid vaginal tears and there is less chance of urine/bowel incontinence.
Your baby will have less risk of shoulders becoming stuck during birth or developing an infection during labour.
There are contraceptive options during the operation e.g. fitting a coil or tube tying/removal (sterilisation).
References:
Caesarean birth. London: National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE); 2024 Jan 30. PMID: 33877751. Available from: https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng192/chapter/Recommendations.
Chen I, Opiyo N, Tavender E, Mortazhejri S, Rader T, Petkovic J, Yogasingam S, Taljaard M, Agarwal S, Laopaiboon M, Wasiak J,Khunpradit S, Lumbiganon P, Gruen RL, Betran AP .Non-clinical interventions for reducing unnecessary caesarean section.Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2018, Issue 9. Art. No.: CD005528.DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD005528.pub3.
Adewale V, Varotsis D, Iyer N, Di Mascio D, Dupont A, Abramowitz L, Steer PJ, Gimovsky M, Berghella V. Planned cesarean delivery vs planned vaginal delivery: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Am J Obstet Gynecol MFM. 2023 Dec;5(12):101186. doi: 10.1016/j.ajogmf.2023.101186.
Coates D, Thirukumar P, Henry A. Women's experiences and satisfaction with having a cesarean birth: An integrative review. Birth. 2020 Jun;47(2):169-182. doi: 10.1111/birt.12478
