In Australia in 2017, around half of elective C-sections DID NOT have a medical or obstetric reason

To me, this is really worrying. A new report from Australia found that approx half of the elective C-sections performed in 2017 did not have a medical or obstetric reason.

Of particular concern were the 13–19% of planned C-sections that were performed BEFORE 37 weeks without a medical or obstetric reason.

According to the easy-to-understand article in The New Daily, “This is despite clear scientific evidence showing that waiting until at least the 39-week mark is best for the baby if there are no medical reasons for an earlier birth.”

The report called the The Fourth Atlas of Healthcare Variation 2021 — Early Planned Births — was produced by the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care in partnership with the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.

The report doesn’t mention the impact of C-section on the infant microbiome.

The report doesn’t mention the growing body of evidence linking an altered microbiome from C-section with increased risk of non-communicable diseases later in life (allergies, Type 1 diabetes, coeliac disease etc).

Hopefully, it won’t be long until the microbiome is included in clinical considerations for…