Word: cesarean
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...time and day the baby is born" - allowing for a smoother departure from the workplace, and letting fathers and grandparents know when to take time off. The famous Asian penchant for astrology can even be indulged. "Whenever there is an auspicious date, there will be a planned cesarean," says Singaporean doula Ginny Phang (a doula is a private birthing coach who is not part of the hospital team...
...days following a C-section, a woman will be at an elevated risk of potentially fatal blood clots or infections. This is common to all major surgery, but means that more women die as a result of cesarean section than in natural childbirth. The U.S. figure of 12.1 maternal deaths per 100,000 births in 2003 becomes 36 if only cesareans are considered - and the difference, according to Obstetrics and Gynecology, is "attributable to the surgery itself, not any complications that might have led to the need for surgery...
...Finally, as a woman contemplates future children, she may face the possibility of reduced fertility. A 2004 study found that women who had cesareans were almost four times more likely to have problems conceiving again, compared to women who gave birth naturally. The former will also experience increased risks of ectopic pregnancy and placenta previa or accreta (an abnormally located placenta, which may cause bleeding and other complications). And because many doctors will not permit a woman to undergo natural childbirth once she has had a cesarean - because the uterine scar may rupture during labor with potentially dire consequences...
...Despite the procedure's pitfalls, there have been few official attempts to reduce Asia's high cesarean rates. One of the more notable instances was in South Korea in 2004 - three years after the country's rate hit an OECD high of 40.5%. A chastened government launched a campaign to encourage natural childbirth, and the number of prenatal classes was also increased, allowing more women to learn about the pain-management techniques essential in vaginal delivery. "Overall, Korean women are much more educated about the issue," says Kim Jae Sun, an official at the government's Health Insurance Review...
...forces driving up Asia's cesarean rates are irresistible, from both the demand and the supply sides of the equation - and though the medical drawbacks are significant, they are not serious enough to become a real deterrent to expectant mothers. As surgical techniques improve and costs decrease, perhaps the reasons for preferring natural delivery will one day be intangible. It may become something akin to a rite of passage - the choice of a romantic, affluent minority. In fact, some already see it that way. When his patients choose to give birth naturally, even to the extent of refusing painkillers...