Private hospitals in Brazil attend to about 85 percent of cesarean deliveries, while public hospitals deliver 45 percent of births via C-section. Now, the country is aiming to change this trend as new rules regarding cesarean operation has been implemented by officials Tuesday, the BBC reported.
Under the new rule, doctors are obligated to tell their patients about the risks associated with C-section delivery and as such, the expectant mother is supposed to sign a consent form before undergoing the procedure.
The doctor will also be asked to justify why the cesarean section is required by showing records of the pregnancy and the birth to support their decision. If no such information is available, health insurance companies could be fined $8,000, according to Chinapost.
Pregnant women in Brazil have been opting to go under the knife because they believe that this is the better and faster option as opposed to natural delivery. The moms-to-be can schedule the birth ahead of time, doing away with the unpredictability associated with natural birth. Hospitals in Brazil apparently give priority to cesarean bookings, leaving women who have chosen to give birth naturally without any beds or rooms.
Doctors in Brazil also apparently prefer cesarean deliveries. "Doctors are responsible for what happens and in a situation of risk they chose a cesarean, because if there is a death or complication they will be asked why they didn't do this. Doctors are afraid of natural childbirth," said Renato Sa, a gynaecologist, according to the BBC.
This choice, however, has received a lot of criticisms, as unnecessary surgical operations can bring negative health consequences, says the World Health Organization, Time Magazine reported.
