Choosing caesarean section

Factors associated with caesarean sections in Phnom Penh, Cambodia

“…31 However, much of the vaginal damage following a delivery is caused by procedures performed to accelerate the birthing process, such as forceps, vacuum extractions and episiotomies. 13 Damage during vaginal birth has recently been observed in Phnom Penh where routine episiotomy is practiced in order to "help" women deliver faster. 27 Lumbiganon and colleagues have shown that women often do not know that, when performed without medical justification, this surgical intervention may increase maternal and perinatal morbidity, causing an unnecessary additional health burden.…”

“…13 As shown in Brazil, 31 medically assisted childbirth with sub-optimal quality of care and quasi absence of anesthesia leads women to desire a c-section. Considering why c-sections were so quickly and easily adopted in Cambodia's maternity wards while epidural anesthesia for vaginal birth was not, we hypothesise that c-sections address social expectations, such as choosing the delivery day and maintaining a sexual attractiveness for the husband, while a women's labour pain is considered to be bearable.…”

“…2,[6][7][8][9][10][11][12] These risks explain why c-section on demand is considered, "an expensive and dangerous luxury". 13 Current evidence strongly advises against unnecessary c-sections. 2 Despite different recommendations 1 and warnings about its risks, c-section rates have been constantly and globally increasing, particularly in middle-and high-income countries, reaching "epidemic" proportions in some countries, 14,15 and the increase in c-section rates shows no signs of slowing down.…”

Cesarean section on demand: a population-based study in Southern Brazil

“…1 The occurrence of this type of cesarean section without medical indication has been increasing throughout the world, and this violates the principles of good medical practice, submitting the patient to unnecessary risks and increasing the expense in the health sector. 7 Between 6% and 17% of cesarean sections in different countries occur by maternal demand. 1 In Brazil, the cesarean section on demand has been little studied.…”

“…In relation to the occurrence of cesarean sections in the country, there is consensus that are carried out a lot, especially among those who present the lowest risk of complications during childbirth. 5,[7][8][9] The aim of this study was to measure the prevalence and identify factors associated to the occurrence of cesarean section on demand between mothers who had children in 2007 in the municipality of Rio Grande, RS.…”