ABSTRACT

Motor OS in the first 48 hours were higher for infants born by NSDV than for those born by CS (p<0.05). No difference was found between mothers’ pregnancy conditions and neonates’ physiological health optimality in the two groups (p>0.05). Birth optimality was higher in NSVD group than in CS group (p<0.05). No relationship was found between infants' motor optimality and peri-prenatal conditions according to type of birth.

Anaesthetics used during CS affect infants' neurobehavioral status in the postnatal first 48 hours.

This study included 60 term infants born without any birth complications after completing 37–40 weeks of non-risky pregnancy and intrauterine process, along with their mothers. The infants were allocated as 30 of them born by Normal Spontaneous Vaginal Delivery (NSVD) and 30 of them born by elective CS. Infants’ GMs were assessed in detail in the first 48 hours using Prechtl’s Method; this assessment yielded their OS. The relationship between infants' GMs motor OS and pregnancy, birth, and infants' optimality assessments was examined, and pre-perinatal conditions were compared according to type of birth.

This study aimed to analyse the effect of anaesthetics used during Caesarean Section (CS) on the General Movements (GMs),quality of healthy full-term infants in the postnatal first 48 hours, the peri-prenatal conditions of mothers and infants, and the relationship between these conditions and GMs motor Optimality Scores (OS) according to type of birth.