The Dual Burden of Malnutrition Increases the Risk of Cesarean Delivery: Evidence From India.

ABSTRACT: Background: Among contemporary human populations, rates of cesarean delivery vary substantially, making it difficult to know if the procedure is inadequately available, or used excessively relative to medical need. A much-cited evolutionary hypothesis attributed birth complications to an "obstetric dilemma," resulting from antagonistic selective pressures acting on maternal pelvic dimensions and fetal brain growth during hominin evolution. However, the childbirth challenges experienced by living humans may not be representative of those in the past, and may vary in association with trends in ecological conditions. We hypothesized that variability in maternal phenotype (height and nutritional status) may contribute to the risk of cesarean delivery. In many populations, high levels of

SUBMITTER: Wells JCK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6199394 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature