Cesarean section

Abstract

To the Editors:I was quite pleased to read the article by Brost et al (Brost BC, Goldenberg RL, Mercer BM, Iams JD, Meis PJ, Moawad AH, et al. The Preterm Prediction Study: Association of cesarean delivery with increases in maternal weight and body mass index. Am J Obstet Gynecol 1997;177:333-41) regarding the relationship of body mass index to cesarean section rates. In spite of having been in this field only 17 years, I have been appalled by the notably large increase in the rate of moderate and morbid obesity and have long felt it was a primary factor behind the increase in cesarean section rates seen during this period. It seems we obstetricians have been “swimming upstream” in our attempt to keep down cesarean section rates and have been unfairly blamed.It is high time that cesarean section rates were normed to body mass index and that the American public became aware that this problem is a further result of the epidemic of obesity. I hope to see your Journal publish more on this timely subject. To the Editors:I was quite pleased to read the article by Brost et al (Brost BC, Goldenberg RL, Mercer BM, Iams JD, Meis PJ, Moawad AH, et al. The Preterm Prediction Study: Association of cesarean delivery with increases in maternal weight and body mass index. Am J Obstet Gynecol 1997;177:333-41) regarding the relationship of body mass index to cesarean section rates. In spite of having been in this field only 17 years, I have been appalled by the notably large increase in the rate of moderate and morbid obesity and have long felt it was a primary factor behind the increase in cesarean section rates seen during this period. It seems we obstetricians have been “swimming upstream” in our attempt to keep down cesarean section rates and have been unfairly blamed.It is high time that cesarean section rates were normed to body mass index and that the American public became aware that this problem is a further result of the epidemic of obesity. I hope to see your Journal publish more on this timely subject. I was quite pleased to read the article by Brost et al (Brost BC, Goldenberg RL, Mercer BM, Iams JD, Meis PJ, Moawad AH, et al. The Preterm Prediction Study: Association of cesarean delivery with increases in maternal weight and body mass index. Am J Obstet Gynecol 1997;177:333-41) regarding the relationship of body mass index to cesarean section rates. In spite of having been in this field only 17 years, I have been appalled by the notably large increase in the rate of moderate and morbid obesity and have long felt it was a primary factor behind the increase in cesarean section rates seen during this period. It seems we obstetricians have been “swimming upstream” in our attempt to keep down cesarean section rates and have been unfairly blamed. It is high time that cesarean section rates were normed to body mass index and that the American public became aware that this problem is a further result of the epidemic of obesity. I hope to see your Journal publish more on this timely subject.