All Cesareans, Needed or Not, Put Women at Greater Risk of Serious Complications Including Death

Whether medically necessary or not, the latest information from WHO is that all cesareans “put women at increased risk of adverse events, including death. Any operative procedure increased the maternal mortality and morbidity index (defined as blood transfusion, hysterectomy, internal iliac artery ligation, or death or ICU admission) to a greater extent than spontaneous delivery”.

Thee US c-section rate is 31.8%, half of those being elective procedures, and that rate continues to rise. WHO recommends “optimal cesarean section rates” to be between five and ten percent, with greater risks for women in countries whose percentages rise above 15.

 Why are more and more mothers in the US delivering their babies via c-sections given the risks or morbidity and mortality? Childbirth Connection offers the following reasons:

• Low priority of enhancing women’s own abilities to give birth
• Side effects of common labor interventions
• Refusal to offer the informed choice of vaginal birth
• Casual attitudes about surgery and cesarean sections in particular
• Limited awareness of harms that are more likely with cesarean section
• Providers’ fears of malpractice claims and lawsuits
• Incentives to practice in a manner that is efficient for providers

To learn how to prevent an unnecessary cesarean, go to this link, Mothers Advocate, and print the free booklet on how to have a safe and healthy birth. Your life may depend on it.
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