SynthesisBMC pregnancy and childbirth2017
The effect of an elective cesarean section on maternal request on peripartum anxiety and depression in women with childbirth fear: a systematic review.
Synthesis in BMC pregnancy and childbirth, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 47 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
47 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 121 citations in OpenAlex.
- The association of psycho-economic factors with postpartum depression without significant medical complications for the mother and infant: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2026Pooled it
- Causal effects of neuroticism on postpartum depression: a bidirectional mendelian randomization study.Archives of women's mental health · 2024Pooled it
- Women's experiences of fear of childbirth: a metasynthesis of qualitative studies.International journal of qualitative studies on health and well-being · 2020Pooled it
- The impact of ChatGPT on preoperative anxiety and postoperative depression in cesarean section: a prospective randomized trial.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2026Trial
- Fear of childbirth, nonurgent obstetric interventions, and newborn outcomes: A randomized controlled trial comparing mindfulness-based childbirth and parenting with enhanced care as usual.Birth (Berkeley, Calif.) · 2022Trial
- The Effect of Emotional Self-Regulation Counseling on Anxiety and Fear of Childbirth in First-Time Pregnant Women: A Clinical Trial Study.Health science reports · 2026Article
- Smartphone App-Based Exercise for Pregnant Women in Indonesia: Quasi-Experimental Study on Physical Activity, Fear of Childbirth, and Quality of Life.JMIR mHealth and uHealth · 2025Article
- Hospital information system based psychological nursing improves maternal and neonatal outcomes in cesarean section patients.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Psychometric testing of the Korean version of the Wijma Delivery Expectancy Questionnaire: a methodological study.Women's health nursing (Seoul, Korea) · 2025Article
- Linguistic manoeuvres: obstetric violence camouflages harm and loss of consent from birth.The Medical journal of Australia · 2025Article
- Reasons for childbirth-related fear among pregnant women. A cross-sectional study in a teaching institution.Journal of family medicine and primary care · 2025Article
- How cesarean section rates can be reduced through an effective financial strategy: A protocol for systematic review.Medicine · 2025Article
- Article
- Caesarean section on maternal request: a qualitative study of conflicts related to shared decision-making and person-centred care in Sweden.Reproductive health · 2024Article
- Asthma, classical conditioning, and the autonomic nervous system - a hypothesis for why children wheeze.Archives of disease in childhood · 2024Review
- Kangaroo Mother Care Induced Serum Oxytocin Facilitates Prolactin and IL-10 Among Emergency Cesarean Mothers.Journal of multidisciplinary healthcare · 2024Article
- Pain Severity and Pain Interference in Late Pregnancy: An Analysis of Biopsychosocial Factors Among Women Scheduled for Cesarean Delivery.Pain medicine (Malden, Mass.) · 2023Observational
- COVID-19 mRNA vaccination status and concerns among pregnant women in Japan: a multicenter questionnaire survey.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2023Article
- Health-Related Quality-of-Life among Pregnant Women after First, Second, and Multiple Cesarean Sections in the Perinatal Period: A Short-Term Longitudinal Study.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Caesarean Section on Maternal Request-Ethical and Juridic Issues: A Narrative Review.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2022Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundObstetricians are often reluctant to grant requests for an elective cesarean section (ECS) due to childbirth fear. To date, it is unknown if an ECS on request improves mental well-being in the mother in the peripartum period and if possible beneficial effects on anxiety and depression could outweigh the increased risk of complications associated with a surgical delivery. A systematic review was conducted to explore the effect of ECS on request on peripartum anxiety and depression.
methodsWe searched on PubMed, PsychoInfo and Embase. Studies were included with primary data on anxiety and/or depression postpartum in women with childbirth fear who had requested an ECS. After full-text evaluation of 65 papers and quality analysis of four papers, three papers were included. Of one paper additional and yet unpublished data were provided. Studies varied in outcome measures, hence no meta-analysis was performed.
resultsWomen who requested an ECS had higher antepartum depression and anxiety levels but no different postpartum depression levels than women who delivered vaginally. One study of good quality examined the effect of vaginal delivery in women preferring ECS: These women had significantly higher symptom levels of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression than women with normal vaginal delivery.
conclusionsThe prospect of an ECS does not lower antepartum anxiety and/or depression levels in women requesting an ECS. If women resolutely persist in wishing an ECS despite adequate counselling and/or psychiatric treatment, the risk of developing depressive and PTSD symptoms in case of vaginal delivery should be taken into account, and an ECS may be considered as a valid alternative.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.