About one third of babies born in the U.S. are delivered via C-section, and that statistic may rise in future years, The Huffington Post reported. Researchers with the National Institutes of Health reviewed nearly 230,000 births across the country and identified a growing trend of both first-time and experienced moms opting for C-section.

“Since the mid-1990s, the C-section rate in the U.S. has increased by more than 50 percent,” the article noted.

While scientists haven’t commented on the impact this could have on celiac disease, previous research has suggested a link between C-section and celiac disease. Though the cause is unexplained, it appears that babies have a lower risk of developing celiac disease when delivered vaginally as compared to cesarean delivery. Researchers note there could be another underlying factor.

“For example, Dr. Daniel Leffler, director of clinical research at the Celiac Disease Center at Boston's Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, said many of the children's mothers may have had undiagnosed celiac disease. Given that celiac disease can be inherited, and that undiagnosed celiac disease increases the risk of cesarean section, undiagnosed disease 'would be more than enough to explain the increased number of cesareans,' he told Reuters Health.”