CRI听力:Caesarean Birth

The number of C-sections taking place in China has grown almost ten-fold from the 1970s to reach 46 per cent today, far above the 15 per cent rate that the WHO believes is reasonable.

In recent years, a growing number of women in China have chosen C-sections over natural births. The percentage of C-sections as opposed to natural births in most big-city hospitals is between 40 to 60 per cent, and the number in some hospitals is above 90 per cent.

"A high rate of C-sections is a very common problem in many cities throughout China. What's really concerning is the fact that the rate in some cities and rural areas is higher than 50 per cent. Many maternity experts in China are very worried about the situation."

Maternity experts warn that unnecessary C-sections jeopardize women's health by increasing the risk of complications. In addition to this, babies born through C-section are more likely to develop respiratory problems. Here is Yang Huixia again.

"Because babies born via C-sections don't go through the pressure of a vaginal delivery, and are directly exposed to the world from the mother's uterus, their immune systems are influenced."

Although C-sections have many disadvantages, why do such a large number of women prefer them? Experts say that some want to avoid the pain of labor and some want to choose an auspicious day for the baby's birth.

This is compounded by the fact that many maternity hospitals are motivated by financial incentives to encourage unnecessary C-sections. This is because hospitals can only charge half the amount for a normal birth, as opposed to a C-section.

Doctors also prefer C-sections because it takes them one or two hours to perform, while a normal birth can take more than ten hours, during which they must remain alert and become very tired.

Zhao Tianwei, the head of a Beijing hospital catering to women and infants says:

"These days, many doctors turn to C-sections immediately after they encounter any minor problems. This is also due to the increasingly complicated and sometimes conflicted relationships between patients and doctors. But I think doctors should be more responsible, if the woman can deliver by herself, it's better to encourage her to have a normal birth."

In the survey, the UN health agency noted that C-sections had reached "epidemic proportions" in China and many other countries worldwide, with figures showing C-sections had reached rates of 31 per cent in the United States, 36 per cent in Vietnam, and 34 per cent in Thailand.

Some countries like Japan keep the rate of C-sections low, at about 10 percent of the total births in the country.

After all, no surgical operations, including caesareans, are risk free.

For CRI, I am Zhang Wan.