Twins and planned caesarian section 

17 March 2007

The University of Cambridge’s Department of Obstetrics, headed by Professor Gordon Smith, have been investigating how certain obstetric factors may lead to stillbirth, prematurity (delivery before the due date), low birth weight and SIDS.

One paper showed that if all twin pregnancies were delivered by planned caesarean section there would be a significant reduction (76%) in perinatal mortality (stillbirth or death in the first month), especially for the second twin.


This research is published in: Smith GC, Shah I, White IR, Pell JP, Dobbie R. Mode of delivery and the risk of delivery-related perinatal death among twins at term: a retrospective cohort study of 8073 births. Bjog 2005; 112(8):1139-44.