Maternal complications and cesarean section without indication: systematic review and meta-analysis
Open accessAbstract
OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to determine the risks of severe acute maternal complications associated with cesarean section without medical indication. METHODS: A systematic review was carried out with meta-analysis. The literature search was performed systematically, in multiple stages, in the PubMed, Lilacs, and Web of Science databases using the following descriptors: (postpartum period) and (cesarean section or natural childbirth) and ((morbidity or mortality) or (postpartum hemorrhage) or (puerperal infection) or (surgical infection) or (puerperal disorders)). The protocol of the study was registered at PROSPERO as CRD42016032933. A total of 1,328 articles were found; after selection, eight publications that met the study objective and inclusion criteria were selected, with information on 1,051,543 individuals. RESULTS: The results obtained in the meta-analyses indicate that women with cesarean section have a higher chance of maternal death (OR = 3.10, 95%CI 1.92–5.00) and postpartum infection (OR = 2.83, 95%CI, 1.585.06), but they have a lower chance of hemorrhage (OR = 0.52, 95%CI 0.48–0.57). For the blood transfusion outcome, the group effect was not associated with the type of delivery (95%CI 0.88–2.81). CONCLUSIONS: The quality of evidence was considered low for hemorrhage and blood transfusion and moderate for postpartum infection and maternal death. Thus, cesarean sections should be performed with caution and safety, especially when its benefits outweigh the risks of a surgical procedure.
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FOC is correlated with women's positive attitudes towards obstetric interventions, as pain relief and caesarean sections on maternal request have increased globally.
“FOC has also been shown to be correlated with women’s positive attitudes towards obstetric interventions, as pain relief and caesarean sections on maternal request have increased globally (Mascarello et al., Citation2017).”
From The feasibility and acceptability of a single-session Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) intervention to support women self-reporting fear of childbirth in a first pregnancy. (2023) · cites this paper as Mascarello et al., 2017
The Introduction (page unavailable) reports that cesarean-section rates have risen worldwide. The Discussion (page unavailable) says some women view cesarean delivery positively and that traumatic birth experiences may influence requests for it. Neither passage establishes a correlation with fear of childbirth (FOC), nor does the paper report a global increase in pain relief or cesarean sections on maternal request. (LLM, conf=0.84)
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GRADE guidelines: 1. Introduction—GRADE evidence profiles and summary of findings tables
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“FoC has also been shown to be correlated with women’s positive attitudes towards obstetric interventions, as pain relief and caesarean sections on maternal request have increased globally (Mascarello et al., 2017).”
Result
- Authors
- Mascarello, K. C., Horta, B. L., & Silveira, M. F.
- Affiliations
- Universidade Federal de Pelotas (BR)
- Venue
- Revista de Saúde Pública
- Published
- 2017-11-27
- Volume
- 51
- Pages
- 105
- ISSN
- 0034-8910 (ISSN-L)
- 1518-8787
- PMC
- PMC5697917
- OpenAlex
- W2769696181
- Cited by
- 262
- References
- 3
- Citations by year
- 2026: 15 · 2025: 19 · 2024: 42 · 2023: 42 · 2022: 41 · 2021: 49 · 2020: 31 · 2019: 16 · 2018: 6 · 2017: 1
- FWCI
- 2.53
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- cc-by
- Locations
- Revista de Saúde Pública (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas) (publishedVersion)
- LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas) (publishedVersion, other-oa)
- Americanae (AECID Library) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Obstetrics and Gynecology › Maternal and Perinatal Health Interventions
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health › Maternal and fetal healthcare
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Reproductive Health and Contraception
- Keywords
- maternal complications, maternal mortality, postpartum hemorrhage, postpartum infection, surgical site infection, blood transfusion, postpartum period, natural childbirth
- MeSH terms
- Blood Transfusion, Cesarean Section, Female, Postpartum Hemorrhage, Humans, Maternal Mortality, Natural Childbirth, Pregnancy, Pregnancy Outcome, Puerperal Disorders, Risk Factors, Postpartum Period
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