Caesarean section It is, or should be, an emergency surgery for possible complications in childbirth. It is a life-saving practice, but in many cases it is unjustified and that is related to a higher social status.
According to a study conducted in Scotland on the increase in caesarean sections in developed countries, women of the highest social status have a 35% more chance of having a selective cesarean delivery than those of the lowest social layer.
The WHO stipulates an acceptable rate of 15% of caesarean sections, however in Spain the incidence of caesarean sections is 22.26% in public hospitals and a 36.44% in private, and here in private health would be the key to the social component. Caesarean sections by choice are more frequent among those who have private medical insurance.
According to the research, currently women of a higher social position have a certain tendency to caesarean section and medicalization of births. There are women who would choose a cesarean delivery if they could, perhaps because being a regular intervention has been banalized, believing, mistakenly, that there is no greater risk against a vaginal delivery, but that it is one more option.
Although it is often believed that babies "suffer less" because they do not cross the birth canal, that "step" is important to them and the risks to their health are greater than at birth vaginally. Also the risk of death of the mother is multiplied by seven.
Another fact that we cannot put aside when talking about caesarean sections is how much money it costs to give birth and that evidently the cost of a caesarean section is almost double that of a normal birth, which brings more benefits for private centers.
Than Caesarean sections are related to a higher social status It is a situation that has been taking place since the 1990s, since in the 1980s it was the women of the most disadvantaged social layers who were most subjected to this intervention, whether urgent or selective.
Hopefully the next step is to raise awareness and practice C-sections, regardless of social status, only when justified.
Via | The World Photo | Torsten Mangner on Flickr More information | BMC Public Health In Babies and more | Five percent of unnecessary caesarean sections in Spain, unnecessary caesarean sections in private health
