The U. S. National Center for Health Statistics has released its analysis of birth data for 2004. One of the potentially worrisome findings was that C-sections in the U. S. are at an all-time high. The increase may be connected in part to the rise in multiple and preterm births, as well as a large drop in vaginal births after a C-section, both also documented in the NCHS report. The growth in C-sections, however, showed even for “healthy, first-time pregnancies with a full-term, single child.”
This is a complex issue, and driven by multiple factors: prevailing medical wisdom, some doctors’ fear of malpractice suits from problematic vaginal births, current public perception of the need for such a procedure, and the willingness of insurers to cover it. As someone whose child was born via an emergency C-section, I certainly will argue for C-sections in medically necessary cases. Whether the current overall trend reflects an appropriate use of medical procedures and a better survival rate for babies and mothers remains to be seen.