Caesarean births jump over 70%

By Candy Lashkari

There was a time when a C-Section caused both doctors and pregnant mothers’ anxiety, but not anymore. If the current trends are anything to go by more women are opting for a voluntary Caesarean baby than ever before. They have risen from 53% since 1996 to 2007. This is considerably higher than the figures for 1994 to 1998 which are at 21%.

Data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that in six states in the U.S. the cesarean section births have jumped to over 70%. The states are Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Nevada, Rhode Island and Washington. Every state saw a rise in the statistics with 28% rise for South Dakota and 82% for Rhode Island.

Considering that a baby is delivered via major abdominal surgery with considerable health risks for both the mother and infant, why are they on the rise? Is it because the hospitals charge almost twice as much for a Cesarean delivery than they do for a vaginal delivery? The double income may be an incentive for the hospitals but why are the mothers volunteering for them?

It seems that they are not. Current trends show that more women are opting for births out of hospitals. Eileen Ehudin Beard, a nurse and senior practice adviser for the American College of Nurse-Midwives had this to say, “I suspect that economic issues are not the main issues, I suspect consumers are becoming more informed … and seeing home births are a safe alternative for healthy women with a qualified provider.”

Having the delivery at home allows the women greater independence in matters which the hospital may intervene such as administering epidurals or deciding to go through with a caesarean section. The women are scared by the high C-section rate and feel that they are in greater control at home. This is especially true of mothers having their second or third child.

At the same time women aged 25 or less are asking for the surgery as they fear the prolonged labor that a regular vaginal birth will bring. Also doctors prefer the caesarean section delivery, as they lead to less complications than a natural birth may bring. So it is not just the economics but the convenience that is making the C-section more popular.

Fay Menacker and Brady Hamilton of the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics released this note stating, “Although there are often clear clinical indications for a cesarean delivery, the short-and long-term benefits and risks for both mother and infant have been the subject of intense debate for over 25 years.”

It may seem like the rise and rise of the C-section, may finally be bound by the choice of the second time mother to have her child out of the hospital. So one of out every three babies may not arrive in the U.S. via C-section. Of course there are some cases where it will still be unavoidable such as with mother having twins due to fertility treatments or older women likely to suffer complications in natural child birth.