Essay on Cesarean Births

Cesarean childbirth, an operation to deliver a baby through an incision in the abdomen, can be traced back through history to Egypt in 3000 B.C.

More than one-fourth of all children born in 2002 in the United States were delivered by cesarean surgery; that rate of 26.1 percent was the highest level ever reported in this country.

Factors:
There are many factors account for rising cesarean birth rates:

An important contributing factor is the rising number of repeat cesareans. As the number of women having their first cesarean increased, the long-held tenet "once a cesarean, always a cesarean" led to rapid increase in the number of repeat cesarean births.
Another factors contributing to the high increase in the number of Caesarean births are the size of the hospital, the availability of a neo-natal intensive care unit and the number of midwives on duty.
Fear of pain is a motivating factor for elective cesareans, and also contributes to overuse of epidurals—which in turn contributes to the rising cesarean rate. (Albuquerque, New Mexico: by Pam England, CNM, MA and Rob Horowitz, PhD).
The four most common medical causes contributing to the increase in cesarean section rates in North America are: routine repeat cesareans; dystocia (non- progressive labor); breech presentation; and fetal distress.

Discussion:
Undoubtedly Caesarean section is a necessary operation that has saved the lives of many mothers and babies but there is a cost. There is an increase in maternal morbidity and mother-child bonding may be delayed. Caesarean section should be used when there is a clinical indication but many health professionals believe that it is overused.

According to the International Cesarean Awareness Network (ICAN), the risk of a mother dying from complications related to cesarean surgery soars when compared to women giving birth vaginally. The overall maternal death rate related to all cesareans is 8 times greater than the rate associated with vaginal birth..............

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