Posted on 11/24/2004 1:15:31 PM PST by weegee
WASHINGTON -- More than a quarter of babies born in the United States in 2003 were delivered by Caesarean section, the highest rate on record, according to a government report released today.
Birth rates for teenagers continued their steady decline last year while increasing for women age 35 to 44, the report from the National Center for Health Statistics said. The agency is part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Nearly 4.1 million births were recorded in the United States in 2003, a slight increase over 2002. Roughly 1.13 million, or 27.6 percent, were Caesarean deliveries. The rate is up by a third since 1996, said the report, which is a preliminary look at U.S. births last year.
A Caesarean section is major abdominal surgery with serious potential side effects. The report does not distinguish between those that were medically necessary and those that were elective.
The question of whether it should be performed when natural childbirth poses no threat to either mother or baby is controversial among obstetricians.
One unexplained trend in the annual report is the continued increase in the rate of premature and low birthweight babies even though the teen birth rate dropped, fewer women were smoking while pregnant, and more women were getting timely prenatal care.
The rate of babies born after less than 37 weeks of gestation rose slightly to 12.3 percent, the report said, and those weighing less than 5.5 pounds increased slightly to 7.9 percent last year.
Some of the rise in these early births can be tied to the increasing number of older mothers, who naturally and through fertility treatments are more likely to have twins and triplets. These babies are more likely to be born early and weigh less, said Joyce Martin, an epidemiologist and author of the report.
"But it's important to note that the increase in preterm and low birthweight is not restricted to older moms and for women just having singletons. So something else is going on here, too," Martin said.
Among other statistics in the report:
-- Births to unmarried mothers rose slightly.
-- Women of Hispanic origin had the highest birth rate, 96.9 per 1,000 women, compared to the overall rate of 66.1.
-- Two teenage girls younger than 15 gave birth to at least their fourth child.
-- There were 1,512 first-time mothers between the ages of 45 and 54.
------
On the Net:
2003 U.S. births report: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/04facts/birthrates.htm
Mister Edwards, what do you have to say about the C-Section rise?
Way to go John Edwards.
I wonder if doctors opt for the C-section more because they are afraid of lawsuits?
Can anyone say TORT REFORM??? Until this insanity of lawsuits against docs gets put to rest, I predict the c-section rate to keep increasing. Who can blame them for covering their butts?? They have so much more control over the situation with a c-section.
"the teen birth rate dropped"
Does this mean les sexually active or more abortions???
which means they had the first baby at 10? How is that possible?
My sister-in-law just had a baby delivered by C-section because he was in breech position. I was a breech baby and jumped out feet first, but I understand they don't like to take chances these days.
Does anyone know if abortions increase the risk of needing a C-section later? I'm curious because a woman I know to have had one said she will need a C-section when she gives birth in 2 months, and I'm wondering if there's any link.
It was 18% in 1981 when our first was born.
Repeated sexual abuse sanctioned by Sex Positive advocates. Statutory rape is still rape.
Their was=There was
Thanks to the Trial Lawyers and their allies....Dems an psuedo Republicans
That and they make significantly more money.
Don't ya think?
Many females are fertile at 12 or so.
Keep in mind that some ethnic groups develop faster and some develop slower.
Always, always, follow the money!
As in ANYTHING related to the "establishment medical" field, "THE LOVE OF MONEY IS THE ROOT OF ALL EVIL".
Is that that shockingly simple.
See: Induced Abortion and Risk of Later Premature Births
http://www.aapsonline.org/jpands/vol8no2/rooney.pdf
"While black women comprise only about 12 percent of the U.S. female population, black women have 35.2 percent of all induced abortions. In 1987, it was reported in the New England Journal of Medicine that “black women with two previous induced abortions had a 91 percent higher risk of a subsequent preterm birth than black women with no induced abortions.” Furthermore, the study noted, “black infants remain twice as likely as white infants to die during the first year of life.”
Excerpt: http://www.washingtondispatch.com/article_10526.shtml
"At least 48 published studies have shown significantly higher risk of premature birth and low birth weight deliveries among women with a history of abortion.(1-48) One of the best, a Danish record based study (1), found the risk doubled after just one abortion. Multiple abortions increase the risk even more. A doubling of risk among an estimated one-fourth of delivering women who have a prior history of abortion would result in a 25 percent rise overall."
Excerpt:
http://www.hrtl.org/abortion_premature.htm
"Nationally, there were about 1.4 million abortions in 1992, according to the most recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Of those, 741,628 women had abortions in states that kept track of whether the women had had previous abortions; and about 46 percent had had at least one abortion. About 17 percent had had two or more abortions."
Excerpt:
http://www.pub.umich.edu/daily/1996/oct/10-23-96/news/news7.html
Birth rates for teenagers continued their steady decline last year while increasing for women age 35 to 44,
Here is the reason.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.