A recent study performed by a consortium of the National Institute of Health
has found that the number of caesarean sections being performed in hospitals
in the United States is increasing. Approximately 32% of all births in
the United States now occur by caesarean section. The results of the study
were recently published in the
American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecologists.
While caesarean sections are certainly necessary in instances where the
mother's or fetus' health are at risk, concern has risen that
caesarean sections are increasing due to impatience over prolonged labor.
Factors suggesting such impatience include the increased use of drugs
to induce labor and the performance of caesarean sections before the mother's
cervix has dilated to six centimeters. Not only are caesarean sections
more costly than vaginal births, but they pose additional risks such as
surgical complications and placental abnormalities in later pregnancies.
