Cesarean delivery is typically performed when complications from pregnancy make traditional vaginal birth difficult, or put the mother or child at risk. Sometimes cesarean deliveries are planned early in the pregnancy, but they’re most often performed when complications arise during labor.
Reasons for a cesarean delivery include:
• baby has developmental conditions
• baby’s head is too big for the birth canal
• the baby is coming out feet first
• early pregnancy complications
• mother’s health problems, such as high blood pressure or unstable heart disase
• mother has active genital herpes that could be transmitted to the baby
• previous cesarean delivery
• problems with the placenta, such as placental abruption or placenta previa
• problems with the umbilical cord
• reduced oxygen supply to the baby
• stalled labor
• the baby is coming out shoulder first (transverse labor)