China's C-Section Rate Highest Worldwide, WHO Study Says

Main Category: Pregnancy / Obstetrics
Article Date: 15 Jan 2010 - 3:00 PDT


Almost half of all births in China are via caesarean section, representing the world's highest rate for the procedure, according to a World Health Organization study published on Tuesday in the medical journal Lancet, the Boston Globe reports. According to WHO, rates of c-sections have reached "epidemic proportions" in many countries.

For the study, WHO reviewed almost 110,000 births in nine Asian countries in 2007-2008. The report found that 46% of births reviewed in China were c-sections and that one quarter of them were not medically necessary. Overall, the study found that 27% of births in Asia were c-sections.

Metin Gulmezoglu, a WHO official who co-authored the report, said, "The relative safety of the operation leads people to think it's as safe as vaginal birth." However, the study found that women who have c-sections that are not medically necessary are at a greater risk of dying or being admitted into intensive care units, needing blood transfusions or facing complications that lead to hysterectomies. The study found that the procedure benefits infants during breech births.

The Globe reports that the reasons for women having c-sections vary between regions and that increasing rates of the procedure follow a rise in patients' wealth and access to improved medical facilities. The U.S. c-section rate is at an all-time high of 31%, according to the Globe (Mason, Boston Globe, 1/13).

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