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Although cesarean section has become a common method of delivery, the incidence and type of fetal injury identified at cesarean section have not been well delineated. To address a number of issues related to cesarean delivery, including fetal injury, the NIH’s Maternal-Fetal Medicine Units Network prospectively analyzed data from 37,110 cesarean deliveries at 13 university centers in 1999 and 2000.
Overall, 418 infants sustained 427 injuries, for an injury rate of 1%. Injuries typically resulted from either the surgery itself or from other obstetric conditions, such as abnormal labor. Skin lacerations caused by the surgeon's scalpel were the most common injury. The highest risk for fetal injury was in primary cesarean deliveries following at…