Table 6 Comparison of rates of selected neonatal outcomes among infants delivered at term by caesarean section without labour and by assisted 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	0.41 (0.29 to 0.57)	<0.001	0.56 (0.36 to 0.86)	0.01
Low 5-minute Apgar score (⩽3)	0.80 (0.43 to 1.49)	0.58	2.09 (0.96 to 4.54)	0.06
HIE and associated sequelae	0.40 (0.22 to 0.74)	0.004	0.81 (0.40 to 1.66)	0.57

Neonatal birth trauma
Minor trauma	0.03 (0.02 to 0.05)	<0.001	0.03 (0.02 to 0.05)	<0.001
Major trauma	0.05 (0.02 to 0.10)	<0.001	0.04 (0.02 to 0.10)	<0.001

Respiratory conditions
RDS	5.24 (3.15 to 8.72)	<0.001	3.21 (1.71 to 6.01)	<0.001
Transient tachypnoea	2.15 (1.70 to 2.72)	<0.001	1.78 (1.33 to 2.40)	<0.001
Aspiration pneumonitis	0.56 (0.36 to 0.88)	0.01	0.82 (0.48 to 1.42)	0.50

NICU stay >24 hours	1.23 (1.09 to 1.39)	<0.001	1.00 (0.85 to 1.17)	0.99
Breast feeding at discharge	0.91 (0.89 to 0.93)	<0.001	0.74 (0.70 to 0.79)	<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.