Is Anesthesia Related To Learning Disabilities?
According to Robert Preidt exposure to anesthesia during a Cesarean delivery doesn't increase the risk of learning disabilities in children, says a new study.
"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 anesthesia," study leader Dr. Juraj Sprung, an anesthesiologist at the Mayo Clinic, said in a news release from Mayo.
"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 anesthesia," study leader Dr. Juraj Sprung, an anesthesiologist at the Mayo Clinic, said in a news release from Mayo.
Sprung and his colleagues analyzed the medical and school IQ records of 5,320 children born between 1976 and 1982 to mothers in Olmsted County, Minn. Not only did they find that anesthesia use during delivery posed no threat to the babies, but the researchers also determined that babies whose mothers had received an epidural anesthetic (which numbs the lower part of the body) were much less likely to have learning disabilities later in life.
The risk was reduced by about 40 percent compared to children delivered vaginally and those delivered via cesarean section but without general anesthesia," Sprung said.
The findings from the study are preliminary and shouldn't prompt any changes to medical practice, said co-author and Mayo anesthesiologist Dr. Randall Flick.
"What we've found is an association between two things," he said. "One is the way a child was delivered, either vaginally or under regional or general anesthesia. The other is a difference in the incidence of learning disabilities as the child attended school. It's important to recognize there may be other factors that impact learning disabilities."
A report on the study is in the August issue of Anesthesiology.
SOURCE: Mayo Clinic, news release, July 2009
11 comments:
actually your good to post this..
How in the world could they track these babies later in life to see if any had learning disabilities. I can't remember where I left the pacifier 20 minutes ago. :)
Nice blog..
Interesting posting. thanks
This is a sure relief! It's very scary if anesthesia affects the learning process of children or people alike. Anesthesia is widely and commonly used in the medical setting. It's wonderful to have this issue cleared.
Nice post. I'm glad to know this...
I heard that hypnotherapy can reduce the pain in delivering a baby, does it really work?.
keep writing , you have very usefull blog.
I love babies and articles about them.
but I don't have any children
This is a very good blog. I dont think there is any risk of disabilities. Atleast, in my family I haven't come across any children having disability who have not been delivered by a normal procedure
I'm glad to know that anesthesia doesn't cause the child's learning disabilities. Thanks for the info, Lilian...
The other is a difference in the incidence of learning disabilities as the child attended school. It's important to recognize there may be other factors that impact learning disabilities."
interesting investigation, I would like to see more about this investigation, because it's good to know that when we have chance to have a baby
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