Why is the C-Section rate so high?

Let me make myself clear here: I am not a doctor, nor a health professional. I am merely a student who is interested in all things OB/GYN, and all of the educational posts that I do will be from various sources.

So, with that said, why IS the C-section rate so high? Is it because of more elective C-sections? Is it because of doctor convience, or for doctors to prevent lawsuits? The truth is that no one will ever know for sure.

Let's start by taking a closer look at elective C-sections. For those that don't know, an elective C-section is when a woman decides to schedule her surgery ahead of time. It can be for many reasons including convience and when a doctor is free, but it can also be for reasons like a breech baby or placenta previa. In this post, I will only address the issues of convience and a doctor's schedule, because I feel that health problems like the ones listed above are not preventable.

Celebrities such as Britney Spears and Christina Aguelira have been rushing to the OR for elective C-sections. Are they too posh to push? Maybe they just don't want to deal with labor. But does it really matter? The fact of the matter is that our nation's C-section rate is higher than ever, and something needs to be done about it. C-sections pose numerous health risks, and sometimes they are not even necessary.

I personally believe that elective C-sections should not be permitted unless there is a medical reason to do so. Babies have been born naturally forever, and there's no reason why that trend should stop now. We have the neonatal technology there in case something is wrong with the baby, and it could be argued that we provide the best neonatal care in the world. So why doesn't our infant mortality rate prove it?

Hopefully health professionals will realize this before more women and babies die because of unnecessary C-sections.