Women Are Less Rendered Unto a Caesarean

The thought of giving birth is daunting enough without the prospect of major surgery. Well, expectant moms can take heart in recent research pointing toward an overall decline in use of the dreaded C-section. A federal study released Thursday found that the percent of C-sections fell from 22.8 percent in 1989 to 20.7 percent in 1996. That drop followed national concern that too many caesareans were being performed, especially for mothers giving birth again after an earlier C-section. However, there was a slight increase in the procedure in 1997 following research that found a risk to mothers delivering vaginally after a previous C-section.

Also Thursday, the New England Journal of Medicine reported that the procedures aren't nearly as useful as previously thought in preventing certain forms of birth injury. The study cited in the Journal focused on the C-section's ability to prevent brain hemorrhaging during birth, sometimes caused when a baby is stuck in the mother's pelvis. While caesareans, which peaked at nearly 25 percent of births in the late '80s, were long held to be the best method for preventing such complications, the new research indicates that the procedure is no safer than nonsurgical alternatives, including the use of forceps or suction.