The complexety of birth: The Cesarean section

The caesarean is not an “irreversible primary event” but involves a stressful impact on the “planning stages of a relationship in terms of its epigenetic stability” (Holmes, 1993); furthermore, especially if it is an emergency and performed under general anaesthetic, it can increase anxieties and depression experienced by the woman, hindering interaction with the baby and the synchronic development with the mother/baby and as a result, the behavioural system involved with attachment. There has been much literature on the impact and consequent psychological experiences but little in the way of couples analysis over sustained time periods, not just limited to the immediate pre and postpartum but also taking into account the first few months of the baby’s life. The idea for the research to focus on these two aspects comes from the reflections on how (taking a wide range of variables into account) physiological dynamics connected to caesarean section can be best explored, the frequency of which is unfortunately quite high in Italy.