C-Section Used to Deliver 30% of U.S. Births

My husband and I interviewed a Doula yesterday. One of the many things we discussed was my birth plan. My desire is to have a natural birth. No drugs. No cutting. Lots of love and laughter.

Living in the U.S., though, I am concerned about being pressured into a having a caesarean, also known as a c-section. As I was scanning the news last night, I saw an article from the LA Times. The by-line? The C-section epidemic: More women are dying in childbirth thanks to the high numbers of doctors and mothers who opt out of normal delivery.

According to the article, there are 13.1 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births in the U.S. Much more alarming is the fact that if a woman is black, she is 4 times more likely to die from childbirth, with a rate of 34.7 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births! The main factor? Unnecessary caesareans.

According to the World Health Organization, a hospital's caesarean rate should not exceed 15%. When it does, women suffer more infections, hemorrhages and deaths, and babies are more likely to be born prematurely or die. And yet, in the U.S., 30% of women deliver birth via a c-section. Crazy, no?

I am so curious about maternal health care in other countries. What's it like where you are from? Are midwives the norm? Are most babies delivered in the home or at the hospital? Is childbirth considered a human condition or a medical condition?

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