Essential
- Baby born by programmed Cesarean section have 21 % risks in addition to developing acute lymphoblastic leukemia than those born by low way.
- The risk is higher in boys than in girls.
- The lack of exposure to stress and vaginal bacteria could explain the difference between the programmed cesareans and those made in emergency.
Despite long-term potential adverse effects, cesarean levels have increased beyond medically justified thresholds, according to researchers from Karolinska Institutet (Sweden). Previous research suggests an increased risk of acute lymphoblastic leukemia, cancer that arises in blood stem cells, in children born by programmed cesarean. In order to verify this association, the team conducted a study, the results of which were published in the journal The International Journal of Cancer.
21 % risk in addition to cancer in children born by programmed cesarean section
To elucidate the link between the method of childbirth and infant leukemia, she analyzed nearly 2.5 million children born in Sweden between 1982 and 1989 and between 1999 and 2015. “The conditions of pregnancy, the method of childbirth and the diagnoses of acute lymphoblastic leukemia in children have been extracted from national registers.” According to data, 15.5 % of babies were born by Cesarean, or nearly 376,000 children. Subsequently, the authors differentiated the cesareans in programmed cesareans and emergency cesareans.
Throughout the group, 1,495 children developed leukemia thereafter. According to the results, toddlers who developed cancer later in their lives were overrepresented in the program born by programmed Cesarean. In particular, the risk of developing the most common form of infantile leukemia, acute lymphoblastic leukemia, has increased. In detail, the risk of cancer was 21 % higher in children born by programmed cesarean section than in those born by low. “Associations were concentrated in boys and ages where the incidence of leukemia is maximum, at 5 years, and persisted after taking into account potential confusion, in particular maternal and perinatal factors.” Unplanned caesareans were not associated with an increased risk of acute lymphoblastic leukemia in children.
Infantile leukemias: why are the programmed cesareans more risky?
Emergency cesareans generally start with a delivery by low route. This generates stress for the baby and an exposure to vaginal bacteria in the event of a break in the water pocket. However, during programmed cesareans, generally practiced before the natural start of work, the baby does not undergo this stress and is not exposed to vaginal bacteria. Researchers suggest that this difference could explain the increased risk of infantile leukemia.
“Césareans are an important element of obstetric care, often saving. We do not want mothers to worry about medically indicated cesareans. But when this result is combined with other studies showing that the risk of asthma, allergies or type 1 diabetes later increases in children born by programmed cesarean, indicated “, concluded Christina-Evmorfia Kampitsi, who led the work.
