Impact of Cesarean Delivery on Childhood Neurocognitive Development

Abstract

Starting from the words of Victor Marin - "the end is a bad beginning", this narrative review aims to draw attention to the impact played by the perinatal period on the balance and subsequent evolution of the child at the beginning of the journey. The medical literature of the last decade is strongly developed regarding the homeostatic imbalances induced by the type of delivery of the fetus on it. Among these we briefly state intestinal or pulmonary dysbiosis, entities frequently incriminated in escalating the predisposition towards the development of atopy, autoimmune, cardio-vascular, gastrointestinal, metabolic, renal or neurological diseases. Neurocognitive integrity is defined by its importance both in terms of the child's optimal transition to adolescence and later to adult life, as well as in its psycho-social integration. We will therefore develop in the following current considerations regarding the development of the neurological system, emphasizing its variability depending on the type of birth. The desired practical purpose is to raise awareness of the unwanted effects of cesarean section, to discourage its choice when medical considerations are not in question and thus to reduce the burden induced by neurological disorders both on the patient and the family, as well as on the global medical system.