C-section deliveries are becoming more of the norm than the exception. C-sections deliveries are on the rise and the St. Petersburg times took a look at these numbers.
In hospitals across the country but particularly in Florida, surgical births are becoming a given. Nearly 40 percent of Florida babies were born by C-section in 2008; in the Tampa Bay area, the rate is 38 percent. The U.S. rate in 2007 (the most recent year available) was 31.8 percent.
A decade ago, the national rate was 21 percent and Florida’s was 23 percent.
One factor that has contributed to the increase in c-sections has been the decrease in VBACs(Vaginal Births after Cesarean). Women have had limited options when it comes to having a VBAC or VBA2C(Vaginal Birth After 2 Cesareans).
In the late 1990s, nearly 30 percent of women gave birth vaginally after a previous C-section. But by 2005, the rate was just 7.9 percent — another fallout of litigation, doctors say.
Complications from a vaginal birth after a caesarean are rare (less than 1 percent), said Dr. Patrick Duff, a professor at the University of Florida’s Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. But those complications can be so serious to both mother and baby, many doctors automatically schedule a C-section for
Source:St. Petersburg Times
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