100 Years of C-Sections
It wasn't always this way
Dr. Clarel Antoine, Rx Compassion’s Founder and Board Chair, looks at C-sections over the last 100 years in this article, featured in De Gruyter.
C-sections occur in 1 in 3 women in the U.S.
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In some parts of the world,
it’s as many as 4 in 5 women.
But it wasn’t always this way.
In fact, cesarean deliveries were first performed as a last resort, only to be used if the mother was already deceased or critically hemorrhaging. This view began around 700 BC and continued through the 18th century.
All the way through the end of the nineteenth century, the operation was avoided because of its high mortality rate.
Even as recently as 1970, c-sections comprised only ~5% of deliveries, which has increased to 30-32% as of 2020.
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**This graph is for illustrative purposes,
to see exact data, read the full article
As c-sections have risen,
so have costs and complications.
The maternal mortality rate has increased from 7.2 deaths per 100,000 live births in 1987 to a high of 17.4 deaths per 100,000 in 2018.
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**This graph is for illustrative purposes,
to see exact data, read the full article
The over-use of cesarean deliveries is literally a life or death issue, leading to thousands of women developing placenta accreta, placenta previa, and other life-threatening complications.
The CDC estimates if this trend continues, 130 or more additional women will die unnecessarily each year.
We have to do 2 things to solve this problem and save lives:
1) Decrease the over-use of c-sections by educating physicians and mothers-to-be about the risks.
2) Standardize the techniques which minimize risks of developing placenta accreta, placenta previa, and other conditions.
Read more of Rx Compassion's research on C-Sections and other maternal health issues.