According to a new study out of the U.K. the myth of the elective Cesarean Section is just that, a myth. Cesarean rates have more than doubled since the 1980’s, but it’s not because woman are, as the BBC puts it, they are “too posh to push.”
While this turn out won’t be surprising to most women, medical reasons were by far the most common reason for the procedure. Nine out of ten women with a breech baby had a cesarean and 71% of women who had previously had the procedure opted to do it again for safety reasons. Cesareans are far from being an easy alternative to natural birth – the process is invasion, major surgery after all, despite innovations that have reduced the need for general anesthetic. No new mother wants to also be dealing with wound care and the risk of infection and bleeding while also managing a new born if they don’t have to.
So why have cesarean births increased so sharply? The new research has no clear answers, though researchers blame a lack of clarity in the definitions of fetal distress and abnormal or difficult labor. The distinction is drawn on a fairly case by case basis, and may be leading some practitioners to recommend cesarean far more quickly than it might have been in the past. Another possible reason cited for the increase was hospital worry about litigation.
