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Caesarean delivery and pubertal timing in boys and girls: A Danish population-based cohort study

Kun Huang1,2, Anne Gaml-Sørensen2, Lea Lykke Harrits Lunddorf2

  • 1Department of Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health, Scientific Research Center in Preventive Medicine, MOE Key Laboratory of Population Health Across Life Cycle, NHC Key Laboratory of Study on Abnormal Gametes and Reproductive Tract, Anhui Provincial Key Laboratory of Population Health and Aristogenics, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China.

Paediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology
|November 26, 2021
PubMed

Insights

Caesarean delivery does not appear to affect the timing of puberty in children. This large study found no significant differences in pubertal development for those born via caesarean birth compared to vaginal birth.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric endocrinology
  • Reproductive health
  • Child development

Background:

  • Growing public and scientific interest surrounds the decreasing age of pubertal onset.
  • While prenatal and postnatal stress are linked to earlier puberty, the impact of intrapartum stress remains unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the potential influence of caesarean delivery on the timing of puberty in both boys and girls.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized data from the Danish National Birth Cohort (DNBC) from 2000-2003, including 15,731 mother-child pairs.
  • Categorized delivery modes: non-instrumental vaginal, instrumental vaginal, elective caesarean, emergency caesarean, and unspecified caesarean.
  • Assessed pubertal development via self-reported questionnaires from age 11, analyzing milestones like Tanner stages, menarche, and voice break using regression models.

Main Results:

  • 17.9% of participants (2810) were born via caesarean delivery.
  • Neither elective nor emergency caesarean delivery was associated with earlier pubertal milestones in boys or girls.
  • Combined indicator analysis showed minimal mean age differences for caesarean deliveries, with confidence intervals overlapping zero.

Conclusions:

  • Caesarean delivery does not demonstrate a clinically significant impact on the timing of pubertal development in children.
  • Findings suggest that mode of delivery is unlikely to be a major factor in altered pubertal timing.
Abstract

Keywords:
birth stresscaesarean deliverycohort studypubertysexual maturation

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