Doctors flag global C-section ‘epidemic’

Spain celebrates National Day Millions undergoing procedure at rates ‘that have virtually nothing to do with evidence-based medicine’

Worldwide Caesarean section use has nearly doubled in two decades and has reached “epidemic” proportions in some countries, doctors warned yesterday, highlighting a huge gap in childbirth care between rich and poor mothers.

They said millions of women each year may be putting themselves and their babies at unnecessary risk by undergoing C-sections at rates “that have virtually nothing to do with evidence-based medicine”.

In 2015, the most recent year for which complete data is available, doctors performed 29.7 million C-sections worldwide — 21 per cent of all births. This was up from 16 million in 2000, or 12 per cent of all births, according to research published in The Lancet.

It is estimated that the operation — a vital surgical procedure when complications occur during birth — is necessary 1015 per cent of the time.

But the research found wildly varying country rates of Csection use, often according to economic status: in at least 15 countries more than 40 per cent births are performed using the practice, often on wealthier women in private facilities.

Egypt and Turkey

In Brazil, Egypt and Turkey, more than half of all births are done via C-section.

The Dominican Republic has the highest rate of any nation, with 58.1 per cent of all babies delivered using the procedure.

But in close to a quarter of nations surveyed, C-section use is significantly lower than average. Authors pointed out that while the procedure is generally over-used in many middle- and high-income settings, women in low-income situations often lack necessarily access to what can be a lifesaving procedure.

“We would not expect such differences between countries, between women by socioeconomic status or between provinces/states within countries based on obstetric need,” Ties Boerma, professor of public health at the University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, and a lead author on the study, told journalists.

AP Spanish soldiers march during a military parade as the country celebrates its National Day in Madrid, yesterday. Amid tensions over efforts by separatists to attain Catalonian independence, the annual public holiday provides a cue for nationwide displays of pomp and patriotism.