As C-Sections Constitute Half of Births in Mexico, Experts Debate Causes and Consequences Mayela Sanchez - Global Press Institute
go to original September 1, 2014

In the face of the alarming rate of cesarean sections in Mexico, some doctors are becoming midwives, a role traditionally fulfilled by indigenous women. One such caregiver, Dr. Cristina de la Cruz Sada, operates a house in southern Mexico to serve women who want to have a greater say in their deliveries. (Global Press Institute)

MEXICO CITY -  The number of planned C-sections performed in Mexico's public and private hospitals has more than doubled since 2000. Health experts attribute the surge to excessive patient loads at public hospitals, economic incentives for private practices, women's fear of pain and complications, lack of public awareness of C-section risks, insurance policies, and insufficient education for doctors. Some warn that the surge poses health risks for mothers and babies and burdens the national health care system. As experts ask for more regulation of deliveries, national health care bodies plan to carry out a study this year that will inform future policies.

From 2007 to 2012, more than 46 percent of babies born in Mexico were delivered via C-sections, according to a 2012 National Institute of Public Health survey. More than 25 percent of deliveries were emergency C-sections, and more than 20 percent were planned C-sections.

The institutes report on the survey calls the total alarming, as it is more than double the recommended limit of 20 percent set by the Official Mexican Standards, which regulate products, processes or services that could pose a risk to humans and the environment. The survey also demonstrates a nearly 55 percent increase in the rate at which C-sections have been performed since 2000, when they accounted for less than 30 percent of births.

The proportion of deliveries made by C-section in Mexico even further exceeds the World Health Organizations recommendation. There is no justification for any region to have [C-section] rates higher than 10-15 percent, the WHO states in a 2010 report.

Read the rest at Global Press Institute

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