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C-section: When is it the best option?
By Mayo Clinic staffCaesarean birth — also known as a C-section — is delivery of a baby through an incision in the mother's abdomen and uterus. Although C-sections are sometimes planned due to pregnancy complications or previous C-sections, most first-time C-sections occur unexpectedly.
Why a C-section might be needed
Sometimes a C-section is safer than vaginal birth for mother and baby. Your health care provider may recommend a C-section if:
- Your labor isn't progressing. Stalled labor, whether due to your cervix not opening or other reasons, is the most common reason for a C-section.
- Your baby's heartbeat suggests reduced oxygen supply. Your health care provider may recommend a C-section if he or she is concerned your baby may be in distress.
- Your baby is in an abnormal position. If your baby's feet or buttocks enter the birth canal before the head (breech presentation), or if the baby is lying horizontally across your uterus (transverse lie), you may need a C-section.
- Your baby's head is in the wrong position. If your baby enters the birth canal chin up or with the top of the forehead or face first, he or she may not fit through your pelvis.
- You're carrying twins, triplets or other multiples. It's common for one or more of the babies to be in an abnormal position in a multiple pregnancy.
- There's a problem with your placenta. The placenta can detach from your uterus before labor begins (placental abruption) or block the opening of your cervix (placenta previa).
- There's a problem with the umbilical cord. A loop of umbilical cord can slip through your cervix ahead of your baby or your uterus can compress the cord during contractions.
- Your baby is very large. Some babies are simply too big for safe vaginal delivery.
- You have a health problem. Diabetes, heart disease, lung disease or high blood pressure, or a condition that your baby might acquire while passing through your birth canal, such as active genital herpes infection, might make a C-section a safer delivery option.
- Your baby has a health problem. Certain developmental disorders, such as failure of the spine to close properly (spina bifida) or excess fluid in the brain (hydrocephalus), may make a C-section a safer delivery option.
- You've had a previous C-section. Depending on the type of incision and other factors, you may or may not be able to attempt a vaginal delivery after a previous C-section.
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