Cesarean section trends from 1992 to 2016 in Estonia and Finland: A registry‐based study

Abstract

Over the last 30 years, the number of cesarean sections (CSs) in the world has grown steadily, yet the precise cause is unknown. 1 As early as 1985, the World Health Organization (WHO) stated that the CS rate should be less than 15%. 2 In Europe, the proportion of CSs has increased from 11.2% to 25.0% between 1990 and 2014. 3 The proportion of CSs varies greatly between European countries, with Nordic countries having the lowest rates. In 2015, the median CS rate was 27.0% while the range was 16.1%-56.9%. 4 By 2019, the median CS rate had decreased slightly to 26.0% and the range narrowed slightly (16.4%-53.1%). 5 The Nordic countries have a lower proportion of CSs than the rest of Europe 6 yet even in Finland, the proportion of CSs had risen from 14.5% to 16.4%