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posted by martyb on Friday October 12 2018, @06:27PM   Printer-friendly
from the labor-of-love dept.

C-section births rise rapidly to more than 20 percent worldwide

Rates of caesarean section births almost doubled between 2000 and 2015 – from 12 to 21 percent worldwide - new research has found, with the life-saving surgery unavailable to many women in poor countries while often over-used in richer ones.

The research, published in The Lancet medical journal on Thursday, found that 60 percent of countries overuse C-sections and 25 percent under-use them, suggesting that recommendations for their use in cases of medical need are widely ignored.

In at least 15 countries, more than 40 percent of all babies born are delivered by C-section. The highest rate, of 58.1 percent, was in the Dominican Republic.

Experts estimate that between 10 and 15 percent of births medically require a C-section due to complications such as bleeding, foetal distress, hypertension or a baby being in an abnormal position.

While the procedure can save lives - of both mothers and newborns - it can also create complications and side effects, including higher risks for future births.

"The large increases in C-section use – mostly in richer settings for non-medical purposes – are concerning because of the associated risks for women and children," said Marleen Temmerman, an expert from Aga Khan University in Kenya and Ghent University in Belgium who co-led the research.

Also at BBC, EurekAlert!, The Guardian, and Voice of America.

See also: New WHO guidance on non-clinical interventions specifically designed to reduce unnecessary caesarean sections

Global epidemiology of use of and disparities in caesarean sections (DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(18)31928-7) (DX)


Original Submission #1   Original Submission #2

 
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  • (Score: 4, Informative) by bzipitidoo on Saturday October 13 2018, @01:37AM (1 child)

    by bzipitidoo (4388) on Saturday October 13 2018, @01:37AM (#748135) Journal

    > A woman's body is designed for that purpose.

    Ah, no. Human female bodies evolved for that purpose and several others, in a whole bunch of tradeoffs. Many years ago, Scientific American had an article about human birth. I don't recall everything, but this is what it said: Chimps have a lot easier time giving birth, because their heads are relatively smaller. A chimp emerges facing the same direction as mother, face forward. A human emerges facing backward, and that's because the head is so much larger that the best way out is basically a contortionist act. The head starts out sideways, then halfway through the birth canal rotates 90 degrees to face the back. This is so the large head can fit through the pelvis. Additionally, the pelvis had to change to better support our upright, bipedal walking. For walking and running, a narrow pelvis is better. For giving birth, wider is better. So the pelvis is about as narrow as it can be, for better walking and running, while still being barely wide enough to bear children.

    Most mammals, including chimps, hide when giving birth-- don't want any rivals about who might kill off the baby. Human birth is so much more difficult that human females seek help.

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  • (Score: 2) by acid andy on Saturday October 13 2018, @09:20AM

    by acid andy (1683) on Saturday October 13 2018, @09:20AM (#748238) Homepage Journal

    You said one of the things I was trying to say, more clearly and in a lot more detail. Thank you.

    --
    If a cat has kittens, does a rat have rittens, a bat bittens and a mat mittens?