| ■ U.S. Caesarean Rates on the Rise | 06.08.21 |
| More than a quarter of babies born each year in the United States are delivered by Caesarean section, says a report released Tuesday by the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. The analysis of 2003 data found that the use of C-section in the United States rose 38 percent since 1997, when about a fifth of babies were delivered that way. Other findings: ·There's been a 60 percent decline in the rate of women who give birth vaginally after they've had a previous child delivered via C-section. ·The rate of repeat Caesareans has increased 33 percent. ·In 2003, the total cost for childbirth in the United States was $34 billion. Hospital stays involving C-section delivery accounted for nearly half that amount -- $15 billion. ·Medicaid was billed for 43 percent of childbirths overall and 41 percent of C-section deliveries. |