Abstract
Cesarean section has a long history in the evolution of obstetrics and human culture. Once, while a cesarean section was performed on a dying woman in order to save the infant’s life, today its rates in high and middle income countries have increased dramatically. However, the increased rates of cesarean sections are not justified by the WHO recommendations in 2015 which stated that CS rates above 10-15% were not associated with lower maternal or neonatal mortality. Greece belongs to the countries with very high rates of cesarean sections. As a result, about 6 in 10 Greek women give birth by caesarean section. For this situation, many driving factors of cesarean sections and potential solutions have been discussed. However, despite the concerns of health care professionals and midwives, the vicious cycle of cesarean sections in Greece has not yet stopped.
Highlights
In recent years, we observed that Cesarean deliveries have increased and this is a global problem because of the negative impact on maternal and infant health (1)
Cesarean Section (CS) is a very common surgery, it is associated with high rates of postoperative complications, such as hemorrhage, sepsis, ileus, thromboembolic events and uterine injury (2), (3), (4)
In 2009, the WHO recommended that the ideal CS rate was 5-15% (9); at least 1.4 million cesarean sections were performed in Europe in 2017
Summary
We observed that Cesarean deliveries have increased and this is a global problem because of the negative impact on maternal and infant health (1). Cesarean Section (CS) is a very common surgery, it is associated with high rates of postoperative complications, such as hemorrhage, sepsis, ileus, thromboembolic events and uterine injury (2), (3), (4). Some other studies on neonatal child complications have shown that CS is associated with an increased risk for diabetes, obesity, atopic dermatitis and respiratory morbidity (5), (6). The WHO recommends that CS rates higher than these rates are not associated with a reduction in maternal-neonatal mortality (8). In 2009, the WHO recommended that the ideal CS rate was 5-15% (9); at least 1.4 million cesarean sections were performed in Europe in 2017. Apart from Greece, very high CS rates were in Romania 44.1%, Cyprus 54.8%, Bulgaria 43.1%, Poland, 39.3% and Hungary 37.3% (12)
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