Doctors, not mothers, drive rise in C-section rates in Canada
May 6, 2011
Theresa Boyle
HEALTH REPORTER
The rate of Caesarean sections is on the rise in Canada and it’s not because more mothers are asking for them, according to the Canadian Health Services Research Foundation.
The preference of health-care providers is behind an almost 10 per cent jump in Caesareans, states an article in the latest issue of the foundation’s Mythbusters series.
“There are definitely times when a surgical intervention is the right choice during childbirth, but the high rate does not align with the evidence or with the research done about mothers’ preferences,” says foundation president Maureen O’Neil.
The article warns that the rising trend comes at a cost both to the women who are subjected to the C-sections and to the health care system. Many obstetricians believe that C-sections are as safe as natural childbirth, but that is belief not supported by scientific evidence. Surgery always has risks.
Canada’s health care system could save close to $25 million if the rate of first-time, let alone repeat C-sections, could be reduced by 15%.
In Canada, women are having more C-sections than ever before. In 2008-09, more than one in four hospital deliveries were by C-section, up nearly 10 per cent from 1995-96.
Most mothers who had a C-section indicated that it was their health-care provider who made the decision, the article states.
Compared to vaginal deliveries, C-sections pose greater risk of cardiac arrest, hysterectomy, infection, fever pneumonia, blood-vessel clotting and hemorrhaging, not to mention risks for the baby.
“Unnecessary C-sections lead to unnecessary harm and expense, so we should find ways to curb them,” the article concludes.
“The spotlight must be turned away from the choice mothers make and shone on the decisions of health-care providers. Addressing the gap between birthing practices and the best available clinical evidence will reduce the number of C-sections much more effectively than policies aimed at changing women’s preferences. Most of them would rather give birth the natural way.”
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