Cesarean births have reached a new record high, according to a CDC National Center for Health Statistics report released yesterday. In the report, Births: Preliminary Data for 2006, the NCHS finds the cesarean rate climbed 3 percent from 2005, to 31.6% of all U.S. births. This represents a 50% increase in cesareans over the last decade.
As a nation, we should be shocked and alarmed by this. That such a large number of women and babies are being exposed to surgical risks that far outnumber the risks of normal vaginal birth is nothing short of appalling.
So far, mainstream media is focusing on the other shocking increase found in the survey: Births among teens have increased for the first time since 1991. If news of the cesarean increase reaches the popular media, it’ll be interesting to see how it is spun. In the last few years, there have been many sensational stories about celebrities “too posh to push,” who choose cesarean births, and real-life women who are doing the same. In addition, there was the media coverage of the March 2006 National Institute of Health State-of-the-Science Conference on Cesarean on Maternal Request. This coverage makes it easy to point to mothers as the ones choosing c-sections. The very title of the conference, “Cesarean on Maternal Request,” fuels the erroneous perception that moms are asking for it.
Where is the real c-section story? The VBAC bans, the overuse of medical intervention during labor, the money and politics and litigation that steer so many healthcare decisions?
Here is recent example of media coverage of cesarean. Babytalk magazine announced their 2007 Stinky Diaper Awards to celebrities who display “poopy attitudes” toward children and parenting. One group honored with a Stinky Diaper are moms who schedule pre-term c-sections for vanity purposes. Yes, this can happen. And yes, any mother who knowingly ignores the risks to her baby for the sake of avoiding stretchmarks should be pointed to the nearest child welfare office. However, I suspect it’s a *very* small number of women actually doing this.
So here is my question to Babytalk. Where is the Stinky Diaper for docs who scare moms into sections, then call it “maternal request?”