Stress increases risk of C section

This is shown in a unique study performed collaboratively between Malmö University, Skåne University Hospital, and Lund University in Sweden.

In the past few decades, the number of caesarean sections has risen markedly in Sweden. At the same time mental illness among women in fertile ages has increased, something that caught the attention of Anne-Marie Wangel, a midwife and researcher at the Faculty of Health and Society, Malmö University. Together with colleagues at Skåne University Hospital in Malmö and Lund University, she ran a study of 6.467 women in the city of Malmö.

“Our studies show that the risk of having an emergency C section increases significantly for first-time mothers if the woman has mentioned that she is worried or stressed or has trouble sleeping,” says Anne-Marie Wangel.

On the other hand, women who have received professional help or antidepressive drugs during their pregnancy do not run a greater risk of having to have an emergency caesarean.

Anne-Marie Wangel is now hoping to find methods for maternity care to systematically identify mental illness during pregnancy.

“Our study shows that women tell their midwife how they are feeling. If we had a system to identify these women and offer them special support sessions with a social worker or psychologist, we probably would be able to reduce the number of emergency C sections,” she says.

Wangel is now going to follow up the study by looking at mental illness among childbearing women in Malmö in order to see if there is some particular factor that stands out when it comes to this greater risk of emergency caesarean sections. Malmö?s women are representing Sweden in an EU study in which studies of a further five European countries are included.

Skåne University Hospital has a locally designed electronic journal system in which researchers can run free texts searches. For this study, the scientists developed a new method that made it possible to look for words and concepts that indicate mental illness.

For further information please contact Anne-Marie Wangel, phone: +46 40 665 7455, anne-marie.wangel@mah.se

Pressofficer Charlotte Löndahl Bechmann; Charlotte.Londahl.Bechmann@mah.se; +46-40 665 7879

Media Contact

Charlotte Löndahl Bechmann idw

More Information:

http://www.vr.se

All latest news from the category: Health and Medicine

This subject area encompasses research and studies in the field of human medicine.

Among the wide-ranging list of topics covered here are anesthesiology, anatomy, surgery, human genetics, hygiene and environmental medicine, internal medicine, neurology, pharmacology, physiology, urology and dental medicine.

Back to home

Comments (0)

Write a comment

Newest articles

Lighting up the future

New multidisciplinary research from the University of St Andrews could lead to more efficient televisions, computer screens and lighting. Researchers at the Organic Semiconductor Centre in the School of Physics and…

Researchers crack sugarcane’s complex genetic code

Sweet success: Scientists created a highly accurate reference genome for one of the most important modern crops and found a rare example of how genes confer disease resistance in plants….

Evolution of the most powerful ocean current on Earth

The Antarctic Circumpolar Current plays an important part in global overturning circulation, the exchange of heat and CO2 between the ocean and atmosphere, and the stability of Antarctica’s ice sheets….

Partners & Sponsors