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Babies Exposed to Anaesthesia During C-Section Not at Higher Risk for Learning Disabilities ROCHESTER, Minn -- July 28, 2009 -- Children exposed to anaesthesia during Cesarean section are not at any higher risk for learning disabilities later in life than children not delivered by C-section, according to a study published in the current issue of the journal Anesthesiology. "We found that the incidence of learning disabilities was equal between children who were delivered vaginally and those who were delivered via C-section but with general anaesthesia," said lead author Juraj Sprung, MD, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota. "It's reassuring that the anaesthetics required for Cesarean delivery do not appear to cause long-term brain problems." The study was conducted with data from the Rochester Epidemiology Project. Researchers analysed the medical records of 5,320 children born between 1976 and 1982 to mothers living in Olmsted County, Minnesota. They compared birth records with scholastic achievement and IQ tests administered to the children later in life as part of their schooling. The study builds on a previous project, reported in March, which found that children exposed to a single dose of anaesthesia during the first 3 years of life had no increased risk for learning disabilities, but those exposed multiple times had an almost doubled risk for later identification of learning disabilities. Not only did the researchers find that the use of anesthesia during delivery was not harmful to the baby, they found that babies delivered by Cesarean using an epidural anaesthetic had a substantially reduced risk for learning disabilities later in life. "The risk was reduced by about 40% compared to children delivered vaginally and those delivered via Cesarean section but with general anaesthesia," said Dr. Sprung. Co-author Randall Flick, MD, from the Mayo Clinic, cautions that because this study is preliminary, changes to medical practice should not be considered at this point. "What we've found is an association between 2 things," says Dr. Flick. "One is the way a child was delivered, either vaginally or under regional or general anaesthesia. The other is a difference in the incidence of learning disabilities as the child attended school. It's important to recognise there may be many other factors that impact learning disabilities." The team is investigating whether use of an epidural on a mother during natural labour has similar effects on the incidence of learning disabilities in children as a C-section with an epidural. SOURCE: Mayo Clinic E-mail this page to a friend or colleague! To print, use this version