An NIH-convened panel concludes that most women don't need repeat C-sections if they're already had one, Kelly Brewington reports in today's Sun. The medical assumption that vaginal birth is dangerous for women who've given birth previously by C-section has helped drive the huge increase in C-section deliveries -- along with fear of malpractice lawsuits. About one birth in three in the United States is by C-section.
Fewer C-sections wouldn't just mean quicker recoveries for moms or a reduction in C-section-associated complications. As a reader recently pointed out, it would mean billions in savings for the health-care economy. A normal vaginal birth costs about $6,000, according to figures from a few years ago. A normal C-section is twice that. With 4 million annual live births, that's at least $7 billion a year that C-sections are costing Americans.