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Childbirth – ‘too posh to push’ is a myth

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Although a caesarean section is major surgery, it is sometimes presented as the ‘easy’ option to giving birth. BBC News reports that researchers have now exposed the myth of ‘too posh to push’.

It is “unlikely” that women undergo caesarean sections to avoid the pain of childbirth, research suggests.  Most caesareans were carried out for medical reasons, the review of 620,000 births in England in 2008 found.

Large variations were found from hospital to hospital, but these were down to differences in practice, the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists team said.  Caesarean rates have more than doubled since the 1980s.

Far from being an “easy alternative” to traditional labour, it is still regarded as major surgery, despite increases in safety over the past two decades which have reduced the need for general anaesthetics.

Mary Newburn, from the National Childbirth Trust, said: “This research scotches the myth there is a large group of women clamouring for caesarean on demand”.

Mervi Jokinen, from the Royal College of Midwives, said it was good women’s choices were no longer being blamed for increasing caesarean rates.

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