LACTNET Archives

Lactation Information and Discussion

LACTNET@COMMUNITY.LSOFT.COM

Options: Use Forum View

Use Monospaced Font
Show Text Part by Default
Show All Mail Headers

Message: [<< First] [< Prev] [Next >] [Last >>]
Topic: [<< First] [< Prev] [Next >] [Last >>]
Author: [<< First] [< Prev] [Next >] [Last >>]

Print Reply
Subject:
From:
Nikki Lee <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Lactation Information and Discussion <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Sun, 21 Nov 2004 09:23:24 EST
Content-Type:
text/plain
Parts/Attachments:
text/plain (55 lines)
More Women Choosing C-Sections, Study Says
By EMMA ROSS, AP
LONDON (Nov. 19) - New research bolsters a growing body of  evidence that an
increasing proportion of women in the industrialized world are  choosing to
give birth by Caesarean section when there is no clear medical  need.
Caesarean sections are still uncommon, but a study  published this week in
the British Medical Journal has found that the rate of  elective C-section among
American expectant mothers with uncomplicated  pregnancies has increased by
67 percent since 1991, with a gradual rise from  1991 to 1996 and a rapid one
thereafter.
The researchers, from Boston University in the United  States, analyzed U.S.
national birth certificate data and found that in 2001,  there were 80,028
elective Caesarean sections performed in cases where there was  no clear medical
need.
That's a tiny fraction of America's 4 million annual  births, but more than
triple the 25,162 elective C-sections recorded in  1996.
Older mothers having their first child were the most likely  to opt for a
medically unnecessary C-section, the study found. Almost one-fifth  of first-time
mothers over 34 had such a delivery in 2001.
But the rate also grew among expectant mothers under 30,  with 5 percent of
them now having elective C-sections, the study found.
Similar trends are emerging in industrialized countries in  Europe and South
America. One study found a 90 percent Caesarean section rate  among some
regional populations in Brazil.
Side effects, which can be life-threatening, include  hemorrhage, infection,
infertility and blood clots. Possibly more important, one  C-section brings
even more risks to future pregnancies.
Many women who opt for C-sections cite fears over pelvic  floor muscle
problems and resulting urinary incontinence among their reasons,  but convenience
and control over the schedule remains a dominant motivation.
"Like everything else, the pendulum swings back and forth.  We had the
reactionary movement of the 70s and 80s about natural childbirth,  people went to
the middle ground in the 80s and 90s about getting pain relief  but trying for
vaginal birth," he said. "Now we're going back to this even more  extreme
interventional approach."
"It's in our desire for perfection and complete control  over life," he
Rebarber said.

Nikki Lee RN, MS, Mother of 2, IBCLC, CCE
Maternal-Child Adjunct  Faculty Union Institute and University
Film Reviews Editor, Journal of Human  Lactation
Support the WHO Code and the Mother-Friendly Childbirth  Initiative

             ***********************************************

To temporarily stop your subscription: set lactnet nomail
To start it again: set lactnet mail (or digest)
To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet
All commands go to [log in to unmask]

The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(R)
mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html

ATOM RSS1 RSS2