Rising C-section rates in India

The Hindu
describes the rise of Caesarean rates in India.

Obstetricians say the reason for rising caesarean deliveries has more to do with lifestyle change and delayed marriage, than medical reasons. "The chances of women who get married late delivering naturally are less because the pelvic bones and cartilage find it difficult to support the passage of babies," says Dr. Nirmala.

As far as the lifestyle change goes, doctors say women no longer work the way they used to. "Girls, soon after puberty, are discouraged from playing and that has a telling effect on their later days. At homes too girls, unlike yesteryears, hardly assist their mothers in cooking, nor do they sit on the ground to do some domestic work," points out Dr. Nirmala, who says sitting on the ground is important because it helps the pelvis widen.

At the Government Hospital doctors perceive an urban-rural divide. "Rural women who work more on the fields and at homes with fewer gadgets give birth the natural way," says an obstetrician who adds that another reason for increasing caesarean cases relates to women who come to GH for second delivery.