Obese pregnant women have higher risk for C-section delivery

By Caren Mckinney, | Health | 0 Comments

The more obese a pregnant woman is, the higher her risk of delivery by Cesarean section, a team of anesthesiologists report. Due to this risk, the research team recommends that obese pregnant women have an epidural anesthetic once they are in labor to minimize the risks of a general anesthetic should they require a surgical delivery.

“For obese pregnant patients, obstetricians should consider early labor epidural analgesia,” according to a study at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina.
The Duke team reviewed data on the height and weight of nearly 2,500 pregnant women over a 16-month period. Women were divided into groups based on their body mass index (BMI) — a standard computation of obesity that takes into account both weight and height. For example, a woman measuring 5’6″ and weighing 185 pounds would have a BMI of 30. Individuals with BMIs of 30 and above are considered obese.

They found that nearly a third (833) of women delivered by Cesarean section. Among these women, the average body mass index was 53 (i.e., a 5’3″ woman weighing 300 pounds). In contrast, the average BMI of women delivering vaginally was 31.

According to researchers, preliminary findings of another study of approximately 1,000 women found that women with a “BMI over 40 had twice the incidence of Cesarean section” than women with BMIs under 40. That data “showed a clear relationship between BMI and risk for Cesarean section,” they add