What doctors don't tell you about C-sections
By Cara Birnbaum
November 11, 2009
CNN.com

... When the procedure is needed -- when the mother or baby is in distress or other factors make a vaginal delivery hazardous -- it can be a lifesaver. But only about 5 percent of C-sections are true emergencies, estimates George Macones, M.D., chairman of the depart­ment of obstetrics and gynecology at the Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine, in Missouri. Around 3 percent are completely elective, meaning there's no medical reason whatsoever, but the vast majority of C-sections actually fall into a gray zone: the baby looks big, mom is past her due date, labor isn't progressing well.

A growing number of critics are now questioning whether so many of these healthy pregnancies should end with surgery. "There's no question that there's a basic, irreducible number of C-sections we need to do for women's health," Ricciotti says. "But there's also no question that we're doing too many in the United States." ...