Is Birth Method Associated with Sensory Hyperreactivity in Children 3-4 Years in an Upper-Middle-Income Country?

Background: Research has shown that pressure in the vaginal birth process aids the infant's neurophysiological adaption to extrauterine life, including their ability to regulate their responses to diverse sensory stimuli. As pressure is absent in elective caesarean section births, we hypothesised that these children may be at higher risk for developing sensory hyperreactivity (SHR), a sensory modulation difficulty which negatively impacts on the child's engagement in their occupations. This paper reports on a study which investigated associations between birth method and SHR.

Method: In this cross-sectional study, 91 children aged three and four years from various language, cultural, and socioeconomic groups were recruited and categorised based on birth method (caesarean section or vaginal birth). Caregivers of each child completed the Short Sensory Profile-2 and a demographic questionnaire. The prevalence of SHR between the birth method groups was compared.

Results: The prevalence of SHR was greater in the vaginal birth group (29%) than the caesarean section group (9%). Mothers in the vaginal birth group were younger ( ≤ 0.001), of lower-income level ( = 0.003), and more likely to be single ( = 0.037). During data collection with the vaginal birth group, comprehensibility of certain items in the Short Sensory Profile-2 proved challenging for many caregivers.

Conclusion: The statistically significant higher prevalence of SHR in the vaginal birth group supported a null hypothesis. However, the results are questioned due to the challenges related to data collection. Given this, the study supports the need for further investigation of how sociocultural and socioeconomic factors influence the assessment of SHR in the South African context.