Deaths from pregnancy-related causes, which usually occur around the time of birth, have risen dramatically in the US over the last decade. A new report cites an increase in caesarean-section births as a major contributor to this disturbing trend. Other risk factors identified in the report include a high rate of obesity among many women and underlying cardiovascular disease.
Caesarean sections now account for almost one-third of all US births. The operation or the the anesthesia administered during the procedure was one of the contributing factors to higher maternal death rates. Most of these were unplanned or emergency surgeries to try to save the lives of the mother and infant, but previous caesarean sections were also cited as complications in some of the cases. Minority women and poor women with little access to prenatal care were found to be most at risk of complications.
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