Time to re-think the idea that the “elective cesarian” is behind the rising rate of surgical births. According to an article in today’s Guardian, the rate may have more to do with the experience levels of the attending physician.
The controvery stems from second-stage labour cesarians that are often performed due to “failure to progress.”
Apparently, trainees and experienced doctors have very different ideas of what constitutes a “failure to progress.”

The rate of c-sections is up, again, according to a study coved in today’s Globe and Mail. Experts blame the influence of celebrity culture, myths about ease of recovery and the impatience/convenience factor. The trend toward elective cesarian section results in longer hospital stays for mother and child, slower recoveries, and an increase in delivery and hospital costs that are 60% higher than vaginal births, the article says.