This yeah, at least one in every four babies born in the U.S. will be delivered by C-Section. That number has been steadily rising in the U.S. over the last 10 years.
Though for some moms C-Sections can help protect their health and the health of their babies, experts warn, women who have multiple C-Sections may be putting themselves at risk.
Swapna Reddy is about to have her second baby. After having her first child by emergency C-Section, she and her doctor decided it was the safest way to go this time too.
Reddy says, "My two kids are pretty close in age and I think we just decided to forgo the risk associated with trying to have a vaginal birth for the second one".
However, some women are opting for C-Sections for a very different reason.
According to Loralei Thornburg, MD Maternal Fetal Medicine Specialist at the University of Rochester Medical Center, " many women are seeing that C-Sections are an easy way to schedule their delivery, to not have to wait for labor kind of plan, to arrange their lives, and it seems like the easy solution to when to deliver the baby."
Studies show the more C-Sections a woman has, the higher the risk of complications, like scarring that can cause adhesions and complicate the delivery. Thinning of the uterus which can cause it to rupture. Increased bleeding and rates of infection, and longer recovery time.
Thornburg says, "Basically any complication you can think of in C-section increases exponentially with multiple C-sections."
A statement last year from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists said it is ethical for doctors to perform elective C-sections on women who face no known risks from vaginal delivery.
