About a third of U.S. pregnancies end with a C-section, and in Britain, a quarter of babies make their entrance this way. And yet the World Health Organization says C-sections should happen in no more than 5 percent to 15 percent of all deliveries.
So what's up? Researchers looked at 20 years of information on Scottish babies born via C-sections and the social class of their mothers - 365,000 women in all. Some have dubbed this finding “Too Posh to Push,” but others don’t feel that’s the case.
Dr. Shari Lawson, obstetrician with Johns Hopkins Bayview Hospital, says the link between social class and rates of C-sections raises questions that the study doesn’t address. She suggests, “It might be that women who are from more affluent areas might also have more education and they’re asking their doctors more pointed questions that make an elective C-section the right thing for a particular patient.”
Anyone who has ever recovered from a C-section, or knows a woman who has, clearly understands that major abdominal surgery is not a quick and easy way to opt out of the risks involved in pregnancy and labor. Other reasons for more elective C-sections may include more women facing complications caused by advanced maternal age, obesity or high blood pressure.
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