Planned C-section babies at more risk of developing leukaemia later

Having a planned caesarean section during delivery could be related to an increased risk of leukaemia — a blood cancer — later in the child's life, compared with an emergency C-section, a study has found.

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A C-section delivery of a child involves making a surgical cut in the mother's abdomen and uterus. The need for delivering via a C-section can be planned or arise as an emergency during labour.

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet said that exposure of a baby to vaginal bacteria in an emergency C-section — which usually begins as a vaginal delivery — could be why planned C-sections carry an increased risk of certain diseases, compared to emergency ones.