Why Are Cesarean Section Rates Climbing?
There are many reasons for the increase in cesarean births. Many have associated rising malpractice insurance costs and doctor’s fears of lawsuits if something were to go wrong with a vaginal delivery. Fear and speculation alone however are not enough to warrant a rise in c-section deliveries. The increase is not however solely the result of physician decisions. More and more mothers are expressing their preference to undergo elective cesarean rather than try a vaginal birth, particularly first time mothers. The cesarean birth rate is increasing even among healthy mothers who may have no indicators suggesting a need for c-sections. The federal government recently announced their goal of reducing the number of c-section births to just 15% by 2010. The World Health Organization and other reputable health care agencies support a move to 15% or lower. In some cases including in Chile and Columbia, the cesarean rate has climbed to mind boggling rates, up to 40% of all births in some cases.
