The cesarean rate in the U.S. reached a peak of 25% in the 1980s and is still at the epidemic level of 24%. That is triple the rate in the early 1970s and four times the ideal achievable rate, which a number of northern European countries have maintained.
The majority of these major surgeries—cesarean will always remain major surgery—are performed on healthy middle or upper class women, not on women who are at high risk. Physicians are paid more for doing a cesarean than for a vaginal birth.
The increased direct revenue from medically unnecessary cesareans (including ones done just because the mother had an earlier cesarean) is $20 billion per year. The indirect costs (mothers and babies who end up in ICUs as a direct result of cesareans) are much higher.
Surgical risks
The hazards of any major surgery, including cesarean are:
1.
Life-threatening drug reaction
2. Unstoppable bleeding
3. Massive infection
In addition, babies born by cesarean are known to have more breathing problems and difficulty getting breastfeeding.
For all these reasons, as well as the fact that abdominal birth denies the baby the special benefits of vaginal birth, cesarean should only be used for the small number of mothers and babies who require it. Yet today many cesareans are done for convenience, others to avoid labor, and many because other interventions cause complications in labor.
Birth trauma risks
The experience of missing out on vaginal birth is traumatic to many mothers and babies. Any early traumatic experience leaves traces in a baby's developing nervous system and brain. Birth trauma must be acknowledged and healed in order for mothers and babies to thrive.