More Interventions at Delivery Not Linked to Healthier Newborns

Medical Center of University of Rochester released press statement April 13, 2011 :

" High Rates of Induction, Primary C-Section Do Not Improve Infant Outcomes in Low-Risk Women at Community Hospitals" 

based on the result of the study which was funded by the University of Rochester Medical Center and the New York State Department of Health, conducted by Chriptopher Glanz, M.D., M.P.H.


The study was trying to determine connections between interventions during the labour and their effect on the health of the newborn baby.

" The finding that rates of intervention at delivery – whether high, low, or in the middle – had no bearing on the health of new babies brings into question the skyrocketing number of both inductions and cesarean deliveries in the United States."

Balancing risks and benefits of interventions is not easy task, depending on many factors, like protocols, hospital practice, interventions frequency and outcomes.

“Like virtually all medical therapies and procedures, these interventions entail some risk for the mother, and there is no evidence in this study that they benefit the baby,” said Christopher Glantz, M.D., M.P.H., study author and professor of Maternal Fetal Medicine at the University of Rochester Medical Center. “In my mind, if you are getting the same outcome with high and low rates of intervention, I say ‘Do no harm’ and go with fewer interventions.”

Interventions may pose risks to mothers and the babies and their use should be justified by medical reasons, not by preference.

"Labor induction is not always successful and is associated with an increased likelihood of cesarean delivery. Cesarean delivery, while common, is a major surgery and like all surgeries increases the risk of infection, bleeding, the need for additional surgeries, and results in longer recovery times."

This study proved that more procedures during the labour does not mean better outcomes and healthier newborns. However, more research is needed need to take place.

"Glantz acknowledges that the optimal rate of any medical intervention is difficult to define, and that larger studies are needed to better understand the relationship between intervention and outcome. In the meantime, he believes it’s hard to justify high rates of interventions – especially elective – in low-risk pregnant women without any known benefits to newborns, given that these interventions pose maternal risks."