Increased risk of stroke in patients who undergo cesarean section delivery: a nationwide population-based study.

Abstract

This study used a population-based dataset to determine whether (compared with vaginal deliveries), cesarean section deliveries increase the risk of postpartum stroke during the 3-, 6-, or 12-month period after delivery. This study used 1998-2003 records from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database for 987,010 women with singleton deliveries from 1998-2002. Cox proportional hazard regressions were carried out to compute stroke-free survival rates between the 2 delivery modes. The regression model indicated that, compared with patients who delivered vaginally, the hazard ratio for postpartum stroke among those who delivered by cesarean section was 1.67 times greater within 3 months of delivery (95% CI, 1.29-2.16), was 1.61 times greater within 6 months of delivery (95% CI, 1.31-1.98), and was 1.49 times greater within 12 months of delivery (95% CI, 1.27-1.76). Our data indicates that cesarean section delivery is an independent risk factor for stroke.