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Caesarean risks hard to pin down

Meeting stirs debate over rocketing rate of C-sections.

An expert panel convened to advise healthy women about the risks of caesarean sections concluded that they cannot do so, because there is so little hard evidence. But at least some specialists feel that the procedure should be discouraged.

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Posted by Helen Pearson on March 30, 2006
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Considering that most doctors now participate in a group practice where whoever is on call delivers your baby, a vaginal birth usually means that a complete stranger is delivering your baby. How can any woman feel continuity of care or trust a doctor she has at best met once for ten minutes. What is the point of having insurance when you get the same care as if you went to a free clinic! A scheduled delivery means you pick the doctor, you have some control and take a calculated risk.

Posted by: Jennifer Crouch | April 2, 2006 04:09 AM

It is disturbing to see how casual C-sections have become. 30% of pregnancies! The WHO states that no nation is justified in having a C-section rate higher than 10 to 15%. Always under-reported is the effect on the infant. C-section is associated with a higher risk of respiratory distress, difficulty in mother-infant attachment and breast-feeding, allergies, learning disabilities, and later emotional problems. In other words, C-section is an unrecognized and under-appreciated form of birth trauma with significant effects on later mental and physical health. What a price we pay for convenience.

Posted by: Bruce Wilson | April 4, 2006 02:24 PM

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