Placenta praevia (low lying placenta)True cephalopelvic disproportion (when the baby’s head is too large to get through)
A baby in a transverse lie (though some doctors now advocate turning the baby in labour to avoid surgery)
Fulminating pre eclampsia
Cord prolapse
Certain other medical conditions which affect a mother’s health may also indicate surgery. These include:
Severe heart disease
Kidney disease
HIV (although under certain circumstances HIV infection may not pass to the baby).
Caesareans are unlikely to be necessary for:
Failure to Progress *
Fetal Distress *
Breech Presentation
Twins
Scarred Uterus
* providing, of course, no interventions have been used.