Women in the United States are giving birth by Cesarean section far more often than is necessary to keep maternal and neonatal mortality rates low.
Around the world, a C-section rate of approximately 19 percent seems to be ideal for the health of both women and newborns, according to an analysis of childbirth in 194 countries published Tuesday in The Journal of the American Medical Association.
In the United States, however, about one in three births happen by C-section, a rate that has risen dramatically over the past few decades, from 5 percent in 1970 and 20 percent in 1996. By contrast, about 16 percent of births in Finland and 24 percent in the United Kingdom are from C-sections.
“As countries increase the number of C-sections they provide, mortality goes down” — but only to a point, said Dr. Thomas Weiser, an assistant professor of surgery at Stanford School of Medicine and one of the study’s authors. When the C-section rate tops 19 percent, benefits for maternal and infant health plateau.
The implication: “We have higher overall rates than are medically necessary,” said Katy Kozhimannil, a women’s health researcher at the University of Minnesota who wasn’t involved with the study.
And all the surgery isn’t producing better outcomes.
The maternal mortality rate in the United States has climbed in the past two decades to 14 deaths per 100,000 live births. That’s considerably higher than the rate in other wealthy countries such as Germany, Canada, and the United Kingdom, according to the World Bank. The infant mortality rate in the United States is also grim; it stands at about six deaths per 1,000 live births, double the rate of countries like such as Japan, Finland, Portugal, and the Czech Republic, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
So why are there so many C-sections in the US?
Technology is raising more alarms during labor
Experts chalk at least part of it up to technological advances. Specifically, they point to continuous fetal monitoring, which tracks a baby’s vital statistics once a pregnant woman enters a hospital. That might seem helpful, but there hasn’t been extensive research on how to interpret the readings.
“Without any evidence at all to suggest continuous fetal monitoring improves outcomes, it has become a standard of care,” said Dr. Terrie Inder, a neonatologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston who was not affiliated with the study. And when there’s a blip in the reading — if a baby’s heart rate goes up or down — that can trigger a C-section, even if it’s not clear the baby is truly in distress.
Doctors watching the monitor are “seeing a pattern that they are determining is ‘not reassuring’,” Kozhimannil said. “But if you watch any kind of pattern for a stretch of time you find something that’s not reassuring.” Some malpractice insurers will actually reduce doctors’ rates if they take courses on how to read those fetal monitoring scans properly, Kozhimannil said.
Other labor ward policies aren’t always backed up by science, either. Mothers carrying babies that are deemed too big to deliver vaginally often get C-sections, but there’s no simple test to determine a baby’s size so that’s often a guessing game, Kozhimannil said.
Similarly, different obstetricians often have very different policies on how long a woman should spend pushing before she gets a C-section, and how long after her water breaks she should be permitted to try for a vaginal birth.
“It’s an arbitrary cutoff that varies in different places,” Kozhimannil said.
Obstetricians in the US are sued a lot
The idea of defensive medicine — doctors giving the most aggressive care possible to avoid a negligence lawsuit — permeates labor wards across the US.
“If a baby is born via C-section and there’s a bad outcome, you can say everything was done,” said study author Dr. Alex Haynes, a surgeon at Massachusetts General Hospital. “But born vaginally, it could be asked why you didn’t do a C-section.”
Much of the evidence on defensive medicine is anecdotal, but there are slightly higher C-section rates in states that have higher caps on malpractice settlements, a 2009 study found. Doctors aren’t the only ones at fault; there are financial incentives for hospitals to have higher C-section rates, Kozhimannil said.
“Pointing your finger just at the obstetrician and saying ‘Stop doing so many C-sections’ is kind of like looking at the symptoms rather than also the root causes,” Kozhimannil said.
Some women choose C-sections for more control
Unlike in many countries where surgery is a challenge, women in the US can elect to have a C-section. It gives them a lot more control over childbirth than waiting to go into labor naturally.
“Women can choose the day, they can choose the surgeon, they know exactly how it will happen,” Inder said. Doctors are divided on whether purely elective C-sections should be permitted, Inder noted.
It’s a noteworthy but relatively small factor — a 2010 study by the National Institutes of Health found that truly elective C-sections accounted for just under 10 percent of all of the scheduled procedures in the US.
The numbers don’t show nuance
On a clinical level, the 19 percent C-section rate touted in the JAMA article doesn’t have much meaning. But on a policy level, the authors said, having a target rate can help policymakers decide how to allocate resources for care and research.
Yet even the authors acknowledge that their study has limitations. For one thing, the 19 percent target is a global average that doesn’t take into account local realities of prenatal care and surgical expertise — much less the needs of individual women.
“There are a lot of countries doing too few C-sections and a lot doing too many,” said Dr. George Molina, another study author from Massachusetts General Hospital. “The findings apply to countries at large; they don’t apply to just hospitals in Boston or a particular expectant mother or a certain OB-GYN practice.”
In some cases, experts said, high C-section rates are appropriate. That makes the “ideal” average cited in the JAMA study less meaningful.
“A hospital could have a 70 percent C-section rate if it was specialized to treat extremely high-risk women,” Kozhimannil said. “What we want is for all women who need a C-section to get one, and all those who don’t to not get one.”
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Amazing this article misses one of the biggest reasons. Keeping the vagina tight for the husband. Nearly all of my wife’s friends have had c -sections for all of their births. And the secret female reason given is the one above.
Major surgery to keep the vagina tight? Never heard such a thing. There are many health benefits for baby to go through the birth canal, infection fighters and antibodies
If you are a soon to be mother Do NOT take these comments as factual. Everyone’s experience is totally different and none of these posts are supported by research or evidence! ALL OPINION. I personally had a c section due to failed induction and failure for my labor to progress. I was induced after passing my due date by 4 days and then was in labor for 2 days and after returning home my water broke naturally I returned to the hospital and another 24 hrs went by without enough progression. I had a C section and to this day feel strongly that if I would not have done this there would have been a less positive outcome.
I was told by lactation specialists that my baby had tongue tie (FALSE) and that I would not be able to successfully breastfeed if I supplemented with a bottle. My daughter was 9 lbs and I was not initially making enough to feed her. If I would have listened to them she would have had to be transferred to a NICU due to jaundice. Luckily I listened to my own instincts and realized that I was starving her by avoiding any bottle feeds! 2/3 Lactation specialists I worked with over the first month told me the same BS and the 3rd told me to try to supplement with pre pumped milk in a bottle to decrease the hunger then work on latching) I was successfully able to breastfeed and choose to do so for 6 months (check out the research regarding benefits of breastfeeding 3 months and on) My daughter is almost 2 and is happy, healthy and intelligent, she is able to speak clearly in 3-4 word phrases and has no difficulty with articulation, feeding, swallowing or her respiratory system! She is not overweight and she is in the high percentiles (90s + for height) Whatever you decide to do…don’t listen to the negativity surrounding 1 birth plan over another!
Don’t listen to what you hear your story will be YOUR OWN story. C Sections are definitely not enjoyable or painless. In choosing your birth method or “plan” keep in mind that you did not become pregnant to physically experience vaginal vs. c section delivery. HOPEFULLY you became pregnant to experience motherhood and to bring a human into this world with the best outcome possible. No one would know if you lined up 3 kids in a room and asked which were bottle vs. breastfed or which were vaginal vs c section delivery
Why in states where the OB gets paid the same amount for c-section as vaginal births is the c-section rate lower ?
What about Brazil? They have a very high elective Csection rate. Some women dont even try natural childbirth. Travesty
I’ve heard about Brazil. Elective C sections for convenience are a travesty
My OB definitely pushed Csections, so she could get her rotation done. She told me “You can get this done/ with your parents here- or come back in 1 week and do the same painful procedure.” Talk about convience.
Today, many women are opting for C-section for many reasons – fear of labour pain, excessive blood loss during delivery and other complications. But, should this be preferred over natural childbirth?
https://www.parentcircle.com/article/10-reasons-why-one-should-opt-for-natural-over-caesarean-childbirth/
C-sections are better for the baby. Mystic reasons aside (e.g. “the baby not born through the vagina never learns to overcome difficulties”), what are the benefits of natural birth for the baby. None.
Therefore, it is for the woman to decide. She is the one undergoing labour, she is the one to live with the postpartum body. If she wants the scar on lower abdomen and not on her vagina, if she does not fancy the hours of contractions but would rather accept longer recovery and the risk of intestinal adhesions – IT’S UP TO HER.
Why do some people feel they have a right to tell women what to do with their bodies?
C-sections are not better for the baby. A vaginal delivery offers a squeeze to the chest the helps the baby breath better and they are less likely to go to the NICU for breathing difficulties. Several studies show that vaginal deliveries are actually better for the child unless a c-section is medically necessary. C-sections in the U.S. are done 2-3 times more than medically necessary and often kids end up in the NICU for breathing issues because of this. Courtney Wells NICU nurse
Yeah, wet lungs. Not frequent and not a big deal compared to much more detrimental possible consequences of vaginal deliveries. Cerebral palsy, brain damage due to asphyxia, fractured bones… Not unheard of in vaginal, almost unheard of in elective c-sections. Really, you are trying to make a claim that birth trauma for the baby is NOT lower in elective c-sections?
The benefits to the baby are fewer breathing complications, lower risk of exposure to spinal anesthesia which may delay feeding, mother is able to care for the child more quickly after birth, higher rates of breastfeeding among women who give birth vaginally, and, while it’s still being researched, statistically lowered risk of food allergies.
Benefits to the mother include reduced risk of infection and blood clots, lower rates of embolism, faster recovery time, less blood loss, lower rates of pain-managing medications, and (again, still being researched) a lowered statistical rate of PPD.
It’s not about telling women what to do. It’s about ensuring women are making informed choices. I’ve had both c-section and vaginal birth; I can tell you for sure that c-section is not the “easy way out.” Unless you’re talking about being easier for the physician, in which case… yeah, c-section is easier than vaginal. There are a lot of myths out there about both c-section (it’s easy! you can schedule it whenever you want! you are in control of everything!) and vaginal birth (you’ll tear to your bum! your vagina will never be the same/will get stretched out! it’s the worst pain of your life!) that make it hard for women to make an informed choice. We need articles like this to cut through the crap regarding c-section rates and let women know what it really means on the national level.
I think you miss the point. The study shows a rise in risk when you go over 19%. I’m sure this is within the margin of error, so platou was the term used. The reality is, if you don’t need a c section, you are increasing risk to mother and baby by having one! From a policy standpoint Americans could improve child birth substantially
Thank you, Olga! This is such an immensely personal, individual, and no, matter what, beautiful decision. I’m amazed how many people have such angry opinions about perfect strangers’ vaginas. Is this the mommytobe wars? Now even our pre-birth decisions are wrong and monstrous and irresponsible?
Individual- and clinical-level information about risk is great (which this article notes, the chart *doesn’t* provide), but then let the mother decide.
Yes, worries about a lovely, important part of your body noticeably changing are a concern for some women, but we need to have conversations around whether/when that can happen or make any difference, rather than shaming women for quietly wondering and factoring that in. Having the doctor stitch you up more than needed (as they did without women’s consent, to benefit husbands in the 50s) hardly seems like a universal solution for every woman…
If men gave birth and were understandably worried about their parts possibly not feeling or providing as much pleasure due to a traumatic birth, I think the conversation around what’s best for women would sound much less trivializing and patronizing…
I was a csection (pressured on my mom in the 80s because the doctor had a vacation scheduled), and yes that pressure is awful. But as far as being a csection baby? I was breastfed, healthy, and happy like many others I know. There are also anesthesia options now that allow immediate nursing.
Choose the road that’s medically and personally right for YOU – not everyone on the internet. You’ll never make a million people agree with you, but then, it’s your body and your future. So congrats on building it your way.
Come on lets be honest… for all the talk out there, that women can take the pain, I call bullshit. They just want to be knocked out, carved up, and wake up with a baby. No pain, but then use labor and child bearing as an excuse for the rest of their life about why they are 100lbs over weight.
Yea c- cections are gross ….I don’t understand why some women would elect it and then complain that they are fat because of it ….well of course because their uterus gets sliced up
Hey Mike, call me when you have uterus and vagina. Then we can talk about what women need, want, and can choose to handle.
I disagree. Read
http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/06/05/generation-x-americas-neglected-middle-child/
It’s a travesty to have 1/3 of all children to be born by Csection. Unnecessary and unnatural in manyour instances . Safety is of the utmost importance : Perform C sections when vital for woman and child. Elective C sections and women being pressured into one is an outrage
Agreed. I hear of all these women who had “emergency” c-sections and I cannot imagine that all of them/their babies were in mortal danger. Yes, they save lives, but as this article says, they’re done far too frequently. And they are detrimental to the mother and far from ideal for the baby if they’re not necessary.
It’s vain for a woman to get a c- section when she doesn’t require it. Some of these women get one so that their vaginal canals do not get stretched. How f___ing vain.
It is also disgusting that the doctors in the United States are not trained in the art of delivering breeched. They just don’t have the skill anymore. In other countries this still exists.
2 Bekkah:
Lol, sounds like it’s coming from someone with a hopelessly stretched vagina 🙂 If the unwillingness to stretch her vagina is relevant to a woman, she has a right to get a c-section. It’s her body and her choice, not yours, Bekkah.
I have seen many women in their early to late 20’s instructed by their OBGYN to get a C- section and then given some obscure medical reason why it was necessary. I have had 4 children, 2 natural vaginal births and 2 C- section births. Both C- section births were medically necessary. While every birth is different I did notice some differences that are maybe not so obvious. The first of which was the effect that delayed breast feeding and bonding had on my baby. If you plan to breast feed (and I highly recommend doing so) C- section is not the best option for you. The drugs used for C- section will prevent you from being able to breast feed for several hours after birth. Despite my best efforts to keep the nurses from bottle feeding in the nursery, they did it any way. When I could breast feed, my baby was not hungry and was already nipple confused. Babies take to bottle feeding much faster than breast feeding because it is easier for them to cup their tongue around the nipple. It is a popular misconception that breast feeding is easier because it is natural. That is not the case. I highly recommend contacting your local Laleche League and going to some classes for breast feeding, it really helps. Not being able to breast feed immediately after or soon after birth definitely affects bonding with your baby. Babies need that skin to skin contact in order to bond. Babies are omniscient and empathic. They feel their way through everything at first, so that initial skin to skin contact is very important. The difference for me was having a baby that was colicky and sometimes inconsolable versus a baby that was content and happy. Pregnancy, labor and childbirth is a journey. I believe our society has become so focused on the destination, they have forgotten about the journey! One of the most important parts of becoming a mother is the journey. It helps us to bond with our babies, both in utero and after birth. Women’s bodies were designed for childbirth. We have a higher tolerance to pain for childbirth. Our bodies are designed to go through vaginal childbirth and then transition back to our pre childbirth bodies. Maintaining a healthy diet and exercise routine during pregnancy will help postpartum. Breast feeding also helps a lot as it reduces the size of your belly. If labor and delivery were such terrible experiences, women would only have one child! Now this is for all the woman that are considering getting a C- section so that their vagina doesn’t get stretched out or tear during childbirth. Like I said before, your body was designed to do this and recover and there are various different techniques to do so. I recovered from both of my vaginal births fairly quickly and was back at my pre pregnancy weight within a few months. A C- section is major surgery and can take some people up to 2 months for their body to recover from just the surgery and that’s assuming there are no complications. Then you will also have a harder time losing that belly. A C- section causes you to have a pouch of weight right at the scar line or just below that most women are never able to get rid of. Ok so the baby came to fast during vaginal childbirth and you tore, big deal, the Doctor will sew it up and you can even ask him to put an extra stitch or two in for good measure. Don’t deny yourself the full journey. Yes it’s scary, yes it’s painfull, but if that was all we remembered about the experience I would not have 4 children!