Caesarean section (Latin section caesarea, "Caesarean cut") is a surgical procedure in which an incision is made through a mother's abdomen and uterus to deliver a baby. This procedure has been used since ancient times and was usually resulted in the death of the mother. Today, C-section is a standard procedure in modern medicine and has a survival probability of 99.96%. [1]

The procedure is convincing because it's very fast and simple. Under the influence of spinal or epidural anaesthesia, the abdomen is incised by means of a cross-section into the abdominal wall. Then the uterus is incised and the child is taken out. In the end the surgeon sutures the wound which takes around 30 minutes. [2] [3] [4] [5]

Women who have had a caesarean are more likely to experience a complex care than women, who have vaginal births. The incision needs time to heal and the risk of infection is quite high. Besides, due to a longer stay in bed the risk of blood clots increases which can cause strokes or heart attacks. Neonates might experience breathing problems since the equalization of pressure in vaginal birth plays an important role for lung expansion. Additionally, there seems to be a higher risk of overweight, diabetes and allergies for the child. [2] [3] [6]

Medical indications for a planned caesarean are abnormal presentations (breech or transverse positions), a large baby in a small pelvis, an acute infection of the mother's genital area (herpes), or previous diseases of mother or child, HIV infection of the mother. Emergency caesareans are carried out when the mother or baby are in acute life-threatening conditions. [1] [2]

The World Health Organization has determined that 15% of births are caesarean deliveries. But real C-section rates lay at around 30%. It's still unclear how this increase has come about. Professor Dudenhausen, former gynecologist at Charité Berlin, names the following reasons for deciding on a C-section: On the one hand, many women fear the pain in vaginal birth and possible lasting damage like incontinence. On the other hand, the predictability of the hospital as well as the fear of insufficiently experienced obstetricians in complicated parturitions and liability law conflicts play an important role for the parents.

The hospital often decides in favor of a caesarean because in cases of doubt it's easier to justify than damaging the child. Especially in emergency, the autonomy and voice of the mother is violated. This is correctly criticized by many women but solution approaches are still missing. [7] [8]

Further Links:
MEINE NARBE – Ein Schnitt ins Leben, Mirjam Unger und Judith Raunig, 2014 (Trailer)