C-Section Babies Get A Whopping ‘F’ On Initial Hearing Tests

hearing testThe tension between c-section mommies and those mothers who opted for vaginal birth seems to thicken with every new reported benefit. The difference in birthing preference proceeds to widen what with more women than ever before taking their births to their living rooms rather than a hospital, despite the very occasional story of home-birthing fatalities. But even with some ladies sauntering off to schedule their c-sections guilt-free, certain findings reveal that there are definite impacts to elective c-sections — even if they’re by no means permanent.

Reuters reports that a study of 1,600 infants in an Israeli hospital determined that 21% of c-section tots failed their initial hearing test before leaving the hospital. Their vaginally-birthed counterparts, tested at also two days old, failed at only 7%. Yet beyond the two-day mark, the infants’ hearing tests eventually evened out with 8% of c-section infants failing versus 1% of naturally birthed infants — the takeaway being that initial hearing tests for newborns should be delayed.

As for what causes c-section babies to send their new parents into a panic, the explanation is far from worrisome:

[Dr. Tatiana Smolkin and Dr. Imad R. Makhoul] said it is likely related to fluids in the middle ear. Normally, a baby’s journey through the birth canal pushes those fluids out. A baby born by C-section bypasses all of that — and the middle-ear fluids are retained for a couple days.

Deep breaths mommies and daddies. Deep breaths.

(photo: Keith Bell/ Shutterstock)

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