Table 3 Comparison of rates of selected neonatal outcomes among infants delivered at term by caesarean section in labour and by spontaneous vaginal delivery, in Nova Scotia, 1988–2002

Neonatal outcomes	Crude		Adjusted*
Neonatal outcomes	OR (95% CI)	p Value	OR (95% CI)	p Value
Depression at birth
Delay in initiating and maintaining respiration	4.74 (4.06 to 5.52)	<0.001	4.51 (3.70 to 5.51)	<0.001
Low 5-minute Apgar score (⩽3)	4.05 (2.86 to 5.74)	<0.001	3.39 (2.14 to 5.36)	<0.001
HIE and associated sequelae	5.41 (3.98 to 7.35)	<0.001	3.36 (2.29 to 4.93)	<0.001

Neonatal birth trauma
Minor trauma	1.08 (0.93 to 1.25)	0.34	0.80 (0.67 to 0.95)	0.01
Major trauma	0.49 (0.32 to 0.73)	<0.001	0.34 (0.21 to 0.56)	<0.001

Respiratory conditions
RDS	1.94 (1.23 to 3.04)	0.005	2.08 (1.23 to 3.54)	0.01
Transient tachypnoea	1.78 (1.52 to 2.09)	<0.001	1.99 (1.63 to 2.44)	<0.001
Aspiration pneumonitis	2.68 (2.16 to 3.33)	<0.001	2.18 (1.66 to 2.87)	<0.001

NICU stay >24 hours	2.41 (2.23 to 2.60)	<0.001	1.66 (1.50 to 1.84)	<0.001
Breastfeeding at discharge	1.01 (0.99 to 1.02)	0.34	0.79 (0.77 to 0.83)	<0.001

*Adjusted for year of delivery, maternal age, parity, smoking, maternal weight at delivery, hypertensive disease, diabetes, previous caesarean delivery, the use of regional anaesthesia, the induction of labour, gestational age, and large and small for gestational age, where significant.
HIE, hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy; NICU, neonatal intensive care unit; RDS, respiratory distress syndrome.