Rich and wealthy nations demographic?
Makes it easier for doc. Nothing to do w/patient.
C-section = low chance of malpractice lawsuit.
Birth canal childbirth can be risky, and people like to sue. C-section is less likely to lead to medical complications. So, better to just slice ‘em all open than do it the old fashioned way.
I learned this when my oldest daughter was born - birth canal, btw. She’s now 37.
I remember when my wife and all her friends were in the zone for pregnancy some of them would sometimes talk about wanting a c-section instead of natural birth. I think they hear all the “oh there’s nothing in the world more painful that childbirth” stuff and were scared. My wife never considered it but some of her friends certainly at least thought about it. One actually did end up having a C-section, I have no idea if it was medically necessary or not.
Three reasons for this:
- birth can be scheduled, and it’s never in the middle of the night.
- less waiting, less chance of lawsuit
- higher fee
I helped deliver both our children by natural birth. I cut the umbilical cords. Natural birth is painful to the mother. The birth canal is small, and the baby’s head is large. The OB-GYN doctor performs episiotomy which is basically cutting muscles of the birth canal to expand it so there is less tearing inside birth canal. There is profuse amount of bleeding. I am so thankful to be a male!
The reason many modern women are opting for C-sections is it avoids the severe pain before child birth, and loss of elasticity of the vaginal muscles due to possible need for episiotomy. With C-Section, the mother is under general anesthesia and feels no pain during child birth. Only pain is during healing process of pelvic incision, which is no where as bad as during pre-birth contractions.
Both of my girls were cesarean babies. Only because my wife wasn’t able to have them naturally. Not by choice.
Personal account my wife just could not dilate so emergency C section it was. And then the doctors just said do a C for the next 3 children because the lack of dilation will likely happen again.
The downside is your body can only take so many C sections. After the 4th, the doctor told my wife to stop having children.
It is surgery, so it is not something to do lightly. There is a personal risk to the mother always.
convenience - more so than just emergency or specific complicated births.
Can plan their time off from work or whatever better, instead of it depending on when they baby actually decides to come.