Every third child is born by Kaiser cut

One third of the children are born in Germany by caesarean section

19.03.2012

More and more mothers are planning their birth after time: in the meantime every third child is born by cutting birth. According to the Federal Statistical Office in Wiesbaden, the number of cesarean deliveries has almost doubled compared to the 1990s. Doctors warn by birth before the birth: it is by no means harmless, as many mothers and fathers mean.

Caesarean section (caesarean section) is used to surgically remove the child from the mother's uterus. Just a few decades ago, the procedure was only performed for medical reasons. Today, however, more and more women want a cut birth, for example, to determine the birthday of the child or suffer less labor pains.

More and more parents decide on the birth of their child for a caesarean section. According to evaluations of the Federal Statistical Office in Wiesbaden, the proportion of births via invasive sectional birth has risen by more than 100 percent in the last twenty years. In 1991, the proportion of cesarean deliveries was 15.3 percent. In 2010, the rate was already at 31.9 percentage points. Compared to the same period in 2009, the statisticians again recorded an increase of 0.9 percent in 2010. Thus, almost one third of the children are delivered by caesarean section. For the first time, the 30 percent mark was exceeded in Germany in 2008. In contrast, in the other obstetrics a falling rate could be determined. By suction cup 5.3 percent of infants had to be fetched. A forceps forceps had to use doctors only in 0.6 percent of deliveries.

Saarland with the highest caesarean section
Differences made by the Federal Office in the individual federal states. In Saarland, most children were delivered by caesarean section. Here the rate was 36.6 percent. The average birth rate in Rhineland-Palatinate and Hesse was 34.8 percent and 34.2 percent, respectively, according to the total births of the individual countries. In Saxony, only every fifth child is born by caesarean section, here the rate was 22.9 percent and was the lowest in the country comparison. In 2010, around 656,000 women decided to give birth in a clinic. Caesarean section was performed on around 210,000 mothers. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), a caesarean rate of 10 to 15 percent is appropriate for medical reasons. This shows that one of the main drivers of the increase is apparently birth on schedule. According to this, mainly parents decide to perform a cutting birth themselves.

Hospitals achieve higher fees with incisions
Hospitals offer the so-called optional cesarean section, although there are numerous risks for mother and child. Possible reason: Hospitals can charge higher health insurance fees and better plan births. Critics complain the practice, because on the one hand the health system is excessively burdened and on the other can result in follow-up costs due to complications. Apart from that, the health risks are not to be underestimated despite modern medicine. An uncomplicated spontaneous delivery costs the insurances an average of 1,500 euros, while the clinics can charge about twice as much for a cesarean section.

Risk factors for mother and child
Without risks, birth surgery is not. During the invasive procedure with anesthesia there are risks of complications with anesthetic side effects, wound infections, thrombosis, embolism and hemorrhage. Some studies also indicate that children born by caesarean section have more infectious diseases, allergies or asthma later in life. If a parent is affected by type 1 diabetes, the likelihood that the metabolic disease is passed on to the child due to the cesarean birth will also increase. (Caesarean section increases diabetes-type-I risk)

Other hazards include injuries during the child's surgery and development, such as abrasions, cuts and fractures. In addition, the children have an unnatural intestinal flora at the beginning, because normally born children receive the intestinal flora through the involuntary absorption of the vaginal fluid. It has often been observed that infants increasingly suffer from adjustment disorders and an increased need for sleep. Problems with subsequent breastfeeding and attachment disorders between mother and baby tend to be more common than in normal births.

According to a study by the BQS Institute for Quality and Patient Safety in Dusseldorf, 50 percent of the cesarean sections are planned. Another 50 percent is due to the birthing process because the mother wishes or doctors initiate the step. The most common reason for this are bad heart sounds of the unborn child. (Sb)

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Picture: Martin Büdenbender