No matter how much you prep to deliver your baby vaginally, you could end up in the operating room having a cesarean section. Doctors have been performing these procedures for generations, and they’re generally safe for both mother and infant. Still, debates abound around issues related to childbirth through abdominal surgery instead of through the vagina.
You Can Choose Stop-and-Go Fetal Monitoring
Back in the 1970s, hospitals started connecting moms-to-be in labor to electronic fetal heart monitors instead of having doctors check the baby’s heartbeats with stethoscopes periodically. Now it’s standard practice for nurses to watch for signs of trouble on screens nonstop; it lets medical teams identify and address problems quickly.
It’s a good system, and in October 2025 the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) doubled down on supporting it. Still, naysayers claim that nonstop monitoring can cause medical teams to jump too fast, too often, and might even lead to unnecessary C-sections. Study results vary but generally show that nonstop fetal monitoring reduces the number of certain seizures but does not decrease the number of stillborn births or long-term neurological damage.
You can compromise and even individualize. On rare occasions, mothers now choose to have intermittent fetal monitoring until the final stage of labor, which the ACOG says is fine for low-risk pregnancies with these criteria:
- You’re delivering only one baby
- You haven’t been given oxytocin
- You haven’t had a C-section in the past
Intermittent fetal monitoring generally involves checking on the baby’s heartbeat with a Doppler periodically, likely every 15 or 30 minutes, with breaks in between.
If you go this route, you won’t be tethered to the bed by wires and can move around more freely. Some centers offer nonstop monitoring without wires tethering you to the bed.
Cesarean Babies Will Be More Allergy-Prone
If you have a C-section, your baby may be a bit more likely to have certain allergies and other conditions over time. That’s because, with a vaginal birth, your newborn will be exposed to microbes as it travels through your vagina, and those microbes will help build immunity to various issues:
- Nasal allergies
- Food allergies
- Asthma
- Eczema
- Conjunctivitis
Current studies are looking to bridge this gap using a technique called “vaginal seeding.” That involves collecting the mother’s vaginal fluids on gauze before C-section surgery begins and, after surgery, swabbing the baby’s lips and body with the gauze. Data on this technique has so far been conflicting.
Take Precautions in Case of Placenta Accreta
On rare occasions, women who have C-sections end up bleeding heavily due to a situation called placenta accreta. It involves the placenta getting too intertwined with the uterus. In the worst cases, women bleed too heavily and can even die.
This is not likely to happen to you, but the chances do go up with every C-section you have.
Ultrasounds frequently — but not always — give doctors a heads-up about placenta accreta. Just in case you have placenta accreta, you are 100 percent better off giving birth in a hospital—one that’s large enough to have plenty of blood in stock in case you need it.
Keep in mind that if you need a C-section, your OB-GYN will weigh risks, benefits and alternatives before deciding the best way to deliver your baby for your health and the baby’s.
One C-Section Might Lead to Another
In part because of placenta accreta risk, you might prefer to follow a C-section delivery with a vaginal one for your next pregnancy. It’s possible but sometimes unwise because your uterus is slightly more likely to rupture — although the procedure goes smoothly 60 percent to 80 percent of the time.
Your doctor will individualize the decision based on you, your prior labors, the type of C-section you had and your baby’s well-being. You’re likely to be eligible for a vaginal delivery if you had a transverse C-section, meaning the doctor cut a line in the lower part of your abdomen. If instead you received a classic C-section, where your incision was up near your belly button, you’re not a candidate, period. That’s where the rupture risk comes in because there will be a scar on your uterus, and that’s a weak link more likely to open during childbirth than other areas.
An Epidural-Pitocin Combo Might, or Might Not, Lead to More C-Sections
It’s common for women in labor to receive an epidural to relieve pain, and later oxytocin to rev up labor if it has slowed down too much. Some research says that inducing labor, with or without an epidural, leads to more C-sections; other research says that’s not true.
You and your doctor can choose the option that is right for you. Keep in mind that you do need to address your pain; do what your body tells you to do. There’s not enough solid evidence about the oxytocin-C-section connection to justify suffering through labor pains.
C-sections are major surgeries, and they’re often essential to keep Mommy or baby safe. OB-GYNs do everything they can to perform a vaginal delivery but sometimes a C-section is the safest option.
This content is not AI generated.
Full-Fat Dairy? Yes, You Can!
