Abstract

Background: Interleukin-6 (IL-6) has a major role in hematopoiesis, immune and acute phase response and its serum level seems to be associated with the mode of delivery. The purpose of this study was to compare the level of IL-6 in mothers who delivered via cesarean section and vaginally.

Methods: This cross-sectional study was done on 40 mothers with vaginal delivery and 40 mothers with elective cesarean delivery in 2012 in Ayatollah Rouhani Teaching Hospital in Babol, northern Iran. Five ml blood samples were taken from each mother. Blood samples were examined by enzyme-immune assay for the determination of IL-6 in both mothers and neonates. Other information, such as the mother's age, newborn sex, gravity, parity, the number of live births of each mother, and the status of infants in terms of being term or pre-term, was recorded.

Results: The mean age of cesarean section and vaginal delivery patients was (29±5.01) yrs and (27.3± 4.93) yrs. The maternal IL-6 concentration in vaginal birth (170.13 ±15.9) was significantly (p<0.05(higher than cesarean section (33±29.94)

Conclusion: The result shows that serum IL-6 levels in patients with vaginal delivery was higher than those with elective cesarean section delivery. So, vaginal delivery is preferred for all patients except those in whom vaginal delivery is contraindicated.