The U.S. has about 10,000 births per day, and about 32% of those births are via cesarean section, or C-section. If that number feels high for you, you’re not alone.
The World Health Organization says the acceptable rate is only 10-15%.
A C-section is when the baby is delivered through the lower part of the abdomen, with an incision through the skin & uterus to remove the baby safely.
“There are certain instances where the only safe way to deliver the baby is a C-section,” said Dr. Rita Ellen Eye, an OB/GYN physician & owner of Premier OB-Gyn. “One fairly common reason that a C-section might need to happen would be if the baby is not in a good position to deliver vaginally.”
The biggest reason for C-sections right now is fetal distress, which is picked up by fetal monitoring.
“Rather than risk the baby not being able to be delivered safely, then very often we’ll suggest, you know what, let’s do a C-section to get the baby out safely,” Eye explained.
According to the New York Times, fetal monitoring increases the chance of C-sections by 63%, and that means at least some unnecessary surgeries.
Last year, a family was awarded over $48,000,000 from a case in which their doctor allegedly avoided a C-section.
However, with natural deliveries…
“There are often many things we can do during labor, like give IV fluids, give some oxygen, change the position for the mom, where you can take the pressure, take that distress away from the baby, and be able to proceed with labor rather than have to say, ‘Oh, this isn’t safe. We have to stop and do a C-section now,’” said Eye.
However, the CDC still says the U.S. C-section rate of 32% needs to be lowered to 24% or less.
“So there really has been a push, especially, I would say, in the last five years, to try to avoid unnecessary C-sections,” Eye told Ivanhoe.
At the end of the day, it should be a decision about which way will keep the mother and baby safest and not about which way is most convenient for the doctor or the mother.
Eye says the pros of a C-section include avoidance of using forceps or a vacuum to aid with delivery, the ability to deliver the baby quickly and safely, and avoid shoulder dystocia, where one or both of the baby’s shoulders get stuck.
The cons are a greater loss of blood, and often future pregnancies may also need a C-section.
One rare complication from C-sections is placenta accreta, where the mother later has another baby and the placenta abnormally fuses because of the scar tissue from the first C-section, which can lead to excessive bleeding and hemorrhaging during the next C-section.