A new report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) showed that the primary cesarean birth rate in the U.S has decreased by two percent between 2009 and 2012.
CDC reports that for 19 states, the cesarean birth rates averaged at 21.9 percent for 2012.
“The rates had been going up every year, but in 2009 they either stabilized or started to come down," said co-author Michelle Osterman from the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics. She concluded that the decrease is significant although the real impact might be noticed in the overall rates for cesarean delivery.
"Because primary cesareans are starting to decline, the overall cesarean rate will be impacted because there is only a 10 percent chance that a woman who has had a cesarean is going to have a vaginal birth afterward," she added.
The report showed that the overall rate for cesarean births has stabilized by about 33 percent.
The news is welcomed by experts as the risks for the mother and the child are higher for cesarean births than for a normal, vaginal birth. According to Dr. Mitchell Maiman, who is the chairman of obstetrics and gynecology at Staten Island University Hospital in New York City, potential risks for the mother include excessive bleeding, blood clots reaching the lungs, and infection. The child, on the other hand, could be exposed to risks such as breathing problems, injury sustained during the delivery, and the potential need to be placed in intensive care.
"At least the rate stopped going up," said Dr. Maiman to WebMD. "After decades of climbing, there seems to be a hold to it. But we could do a lot better."
In a separate report, the researchers discovered that for New York City and other 28 states, the first-time cesarean rates decreased from 22.1 percent in 2009 to 21.5 percent in 2012. Similarly, drastic decreases were noted for Delaware, Oregon, North Dakota and New York State which saw a decrease of five percent in 2012 from 10 percent in 2009. Cesarean birth rates decreased by as much as 15 percent for Utah.
According to Dr. Maiman, the campaign for reducing the rates for cesarean birth might be more successful if hospitals receive financial pressure. "If you introduce financial incentives or disincentives to hospitals for overall cesarean rates, then they will pass that on to the physicians," she said to WebMD.
