Why caesarean rates have spiked to “out of control” levels

Caesarean rates have reached an all-time high, according to new data.

And there’s no need for it, according to one professor.

Almost half of all births in some Australian hospitals are by c-section.

The procedure is more common in private hospitals.

In Victoria, 43.3 per cent of women admitted as private patients have caesareans.

Hannah Dahlen, professor of midwifery at Western Sydney University, told Ross and John the rate had doubled in the last 15 years.

“In some countries now it is completely out of control,” she said.

Professor Dahlen said it was mainly due to women being given poor advice, or being made to feel like they were risking their baby’s health by having a natural birth.

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