C-section rates in US doubled from 15 years ago, study says

ByEyewitness News WABC logo
Saturday, October 13, 2018
C-section rates in US doubled from 15 years ago
The study was published in the Lancet Journal.

LONDON -- A new study finds the number of babies born by C-section is skyrocketing.

Nearly 30 million women across the world had C-sections in 2015.

That's nearly double the number 15 years earlier, according to the Lancet Journal.

In the United States, 32 percent of births were C-sections in 2015.

C-section was most common in Latin America and the Caribbean where it was used in more than 44 percent of births.

The study added that cesarean section should be universally available.

Experts say there is concern the procedure is being overused, which could put mothers and newborns at risk.