In 15 years, caesarean sections have doubled in the world: they have gone from 12 percent in 2000 to 21 percent in 2015 , when the WHO recommends that this practice not exceed 10 percent and a maximum of 15 percent of births. In the world, one in five babies are born by cesarean section , according to a report with data from 169 countries published in The Lancet magazine on the occasion of the XXII World Congress of Gynecology and Obstetrics.
In Spain, the number of caesarean sections has also grown. If in 2000 the percentage of caesarean sections was around 20 percent, five years later, in 2015, they represented 26.6 percent of all births .
Spain exceeds recommended caesarean sections by 70 percent
More caesarean sections are also performed in our country, ranking 23rd globally among the countries studied. In Spain, the data on cesarean sections are 24 percent of cesarean sections in public health, and 35 percent in private .
The Valencian Community is the autonomous community with the highest rate of cesarean sections with 29.50 percent (according to data from the Ministry of Health of 2014) and the one with the least, the Basque Country with 14 percent.
Caesarean sections by continent
If we look at the data at the continental level, North America and Oceania are where the most caesarean sections are performed: 32 percent of deliveries are this way, followed by Europe with 27 percent of deliveries, Asia (21 percent) , Latin America and the Caribbean (15 percent) and finally Africa with 10 percent, where in many countries they do not have access to this intervention.
The countries where the most caesarean sections are performed
The country where the most babies are born by cesarean section is the Dominican Republic with more than 58 percent of deliveries (according to 2015 data), followed by Brazil (55.6 percent), Egypt (51.8), Turkey (50.4 ), China (47) and Mexico (45.2).
Caesarean sections in Europe
In the countries around us, Italy is the country with the most caesarean sections . There, 35 percent of births occur in this way, followed by Portugal (32.9 percent), Germany (30 percent) and in fourth place Spain with 26.6 percent .
Why are there more cesarean deliveries?
The figures indicate that in general there is an abuse of this practice, but there are also justified reasons that influence the increase in these interventions. One of them is that in recent years the number of multiple births, considered risk pregnancies and more likely to end in cesarean section, has grown.
The births of premature babies have also increased in recent years, who often come into the world by cesarean section. In addition to other medical issues in which caesarean sections are justified such as an inadequate fetal position, problems in the placenta, as well as conditions in the mother that prevent a vaginal delivery.
Unnecessary caesarean sections
Still, the data indicate that many unnecessary caesarean sections are performed. In up to 15 countries, they account for more than 40 percent of deliveries, well above the tolerable maximum of 15 percent.
Caesarean section is a life-saving practice, but it should be done only when medically justified, as it is not without risks, neither for the mother nor for the baby .
Via | The Lancet
