About one-third of babies in Taiwan were born through caesarean section (C-section), as the nation’s C-section rate increased from 35.2 percent in 2017 to a record high of 38.4 percent in 2023, with about 52,000 babies born through the procedure that year, Health Promotion Administration data showed.
The WHO recommends a C-section rate of between 10 percent and 15 percent.
Physicians said the increase in C-sections in Taiwan could be attributed to changes in pregnant women’s traits, conservative precautionary actions by physicians to ensure the safety of the mother and child, or because the parents want to select an auspicious time for childbirth.
Photo: Taipei Times
Taiwan Society of Perinatology consultant Hung Tai-ho (洪泰和) yesterday said the increase in C-sections is likely associated with advanced maternal age or obesity, as they could face increased risk of complications.
It might also be because the pregnancies were achieved through assisted reproductive technology, prompting physicians to take precautionary measures to ensure the safety of the mother and child, he said.
The average maternal age is 10 years older than one or two decades ago, so many women are giving birth at a more advanced maternal age, which is a high-risk category due to increased risks of complications including hypertension and diabetes, the society said.
As women who give birth at an advanced maternal age often only bear one or two children, compared with those who gave birth to four or five children through natural delivery in the past, the low birthrate also reduced the natural delivery rate, and in turn the C-section rate increased, it said.
Moreover, with advanced assisted reproductive technology, women who are giving birth at an advanced maternal age might have gone through many difficulties to achieve the pregnancy, and might be more concerned about the health of their baby and are more willing to go through a C-section, it said.
In vitro fertilization can also increase the chance of multiple births, which can lead to an increase in the C-section rate, it said.
Meanwhile, some parents want to select an auspicious time for childbirth, but physicians would usually ask them to pick a time after 38 weeks of pregnancy, a workday and have other options prepared, it added.
Hung said there are more advantages to natural birth, including squeezing out amniotic fluid in the baby’s lungs when they pass through the vagina — reducing the risks of respiratory problems in the baby — and a faster recovery for the mother, as well as a reduced risk of infection and lower blood loss.
Taiwan Association of Obstetrics and Gynecology secretary-general Huang Chien-pei (黃建霈) said medical teams usually perform a C-section only when they have assessed the risks and benefits, and that several high-risk pregnancy cases have been saved by a C-section.
Additional reporting by Hsu Li-chuan
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