The paper reports the results of a literature review on cesarean rates and models of childbirth care in different countries according to their utilization of technology. There were reviewed 60 studies published between 1999 and 2010 retrieved from the Brazilian Federal Agency for Support and Evaluation of Graduate Education (CAPES) and ProQuest databases. The Brazilian model of childbirth care relies on the physician-patient relationship, level of technology utilization and cesarean delivery.