Rate of Early C-Sections On the Decline

Fewer women are undergoing early-term Caesarean deliveries, according to new government data, the New York Times reported.

This goes against former trends in Caesarean deliveries, which had increased steeply since the mid-1990s. From 1996 to 2006, the Caesarean delivery rate rose by 60 percent, accounting for 33 percent of births nationwide.

The trend worried health officials and medical societies because many were early-term C-sections, performed at 37 weeks of gestation or earlier. During this time period, the risks of complications to the infant heighten.

Infants born before 39 weeks have a higher mortality rate than babies born later. They are also more likely to be admitted to neonatal intensive care units, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists said. The college issued recommendations advising mothers to not opt to have C-sections and inductions before 39 weeks because it could raise the chances that infants will develop pneumonia and breathing difficulties.

However, from 2009 to 2001, the rate leveled at 31 percent, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the rate of C-section deliveries fell by 5 percent among women at 38 weeks of gestation and rose by 4 percent for those at 39 weeks.

"This is great news. This will be the third year of a real flattening of the C-section rate over all," said Dr. George A. Macones, chairman of obstetrics and gynecology at the medical school at Washington University in St. Louis. "There's been a lot of work and attention paid to trying to prevent it from rising, and it looks like that work is paying off. 

"There's been a lot of work done to try to make sure physicians and patients understand the importance of delivery at or after 39 weeks, especially for elective deliveries," Dr. Macones said.