Although called cesarean section or section delivery, yet had nothing to do with the former crowned heads. Rather, the name cesarean section or caesarean section comes from the Latin word caedere, which means to cut, the derivation of which already tells us that this surgical procedure is an incisional delivery.
What is a caesarean section?
In a cesarean section, the child, bypassing the natural ways, comes out of the womb of the mother through incision.
This correct term has also become widely accepted in recent years. It correctly means that the child is developed by cutting out the mother’s womb, bypassing the natural ways.
The history of delivery by incision goes back to the Middle Ages. It is said that it was already known to the ancient Egyptians. Also in the Jewish writing is reported about a turning cut at the living woman. And as we know from Justinian, the Roman king Numa Pompilius (715-673 before our time) ordered that no woman who died in childbirth should be buried without being delivered before by incision.
Until the Middle Ages any exact tradition was missing. First incision delivery in Germany is attributed in Wittenberg surgeon Jeremias Trautmann in 1610, but the woman died. Until the end of the 19th century, caesarean section was still a very big risk with a high mortality rate.
When is a cesarean section used?
Only the introduction of asepsis, the improved suture technique on and the transfer of the opening section from the body of the uterus to the cervix, was able to reduce its dangerousness to such an extent that today it does not cause higher mortality than other aseptic operations of the abdominal cavity as well.
Delivery must be performed, among others, in the following cases: if there is a disproportion between the child’s head and the mother’s pelvis, if tumors are displaced, if the child’s position and attitude are favorable, if there is a threat of uterine rupture, or if the placenta lies in front of the cervix. In addition to these listed cases of maternal indications, the following infant indications also make incisional delivery necessary: Umbilical cord prolapse, poor fetal heart tones, and labor weakness.
In practice, the indication is usually mixed, that is, both maternal and fetal. It is up to the obstetrician to decide if and when to perform an incisional delivery. He must weigh the risk that exists in this surgical intervention for mother and child, in contrast to other deliveries, for example, spontaneous, forceps deliveries, turns, which are usually also possible, but often with increased risk to the child.
Is a cesarean section recommended?
Despite reduction in mortality, incisional delivery is still the most dangerous operation for the mother. That is why obstetricians are very reluctant to use it.
Nevertheless, along with other improvements in obstetrics, it has been instrumental in substantially reducing maternal and infant mortality during childbirth in recent decades.
