I don't know how malpractice or medicine in general works in Iraq, so I can't make any calls there, but the primary reason that we have so many C-sections in the U.S. is a direct result of physicians being sued if the slightest thing goes wrong. OB/GYNs are the most sued of all the medical specialties. Watch some daytime television - every other commercial is for a lawyer begging you to turn your child into a cash cow (I'm not counting those who are injured as a result of gross negligence). No wonder they don't want to take any chances!

I also think that the rise in C-sections is because we (the U.S.) have more high-risk women than we used to. We have more obesity, diabetes, chronic illness, and multiple births, and all of those are high-risk.

I think that the "too posh to push" mother is a rare exception. Doctors are mostly just trying to cover their butts.

Liability is killing the medical profession. It still comes down to money. Hospitals make more money with C-Sections and they are better shielded from liability. The incentives are backwards. We should be encouraging natural births and only stepping in when a problems ensues. Instead, hospitals are using factors to determine the danger and doing "preemptive" C-Sections. It may just be too much information.

I think we got involved in Iraq because of preemptive measures. Those measures never seem to work.

Were any questions asked about the genital mutilation done in Muslim countries and if this had anything to do with a greater number of C sections? Cutting off the labia and clitoris and sewing the vagina shut except for a pea sized hole for urination and menstruation leaves quite a bit of scar tissue. The vagina must be cut open after the wedding ceremony in order to consummate the marriage. All of this leads to less stretching and more tearing or cutting during the birthing process.

How can you know that this has anything to do with medical malpractice or insurance companies in Iraq? Maybe they prefer C-sections to C-4, the explosive that is evidently one of the methods the terrorists use to target hospitals and blow them up. One of the other articles recently posted discussed the targeting of hospitals in the middle east. Labor can last a lot longer than a C-section. Maybe the doctors and the mothers want to get away from that target ASAP. In the Middle East I suspect liablility is not killing as many medical professionals, or anyone else for that matter, as is terrorism. I down Western ethics and mores have little to do with anything done in Iraq.

last sentence shoul have been, "I doubt Western ethics and mores...."

Um, the reason is NOT liability, that's just what people say when they need something or someone to blame. C-section is more expensive and more dangerous than normal vaginal birth in most cases - so what was that you were saying about liability? Even the article should have tipped you off to this: "unnecessary surgeries with potentially serious consequences ... more women needing blood transfusions and suffering from infections, and babies with serious breathing problems..."

Nonetheless, I love it when doctors think they should be immune from liability. They're among the most educated people in our country and have insurance. If they screw up and it messes up a life/lives they SHOULD be held accountable.

If you paid any attention, you'd know that med mal cases are hard to establish, and even harder for the claimant to win. And then the judgment amount - ha - ever read up on what average judgments are for things that change your life forever at the hands of a sloppy MD? Not the ones that make headlines that laypeople rage about, but a national average. Go do a little research, I think you'll be surprised at what actually gets awarded. A lot of times, it's less than what it cost you to find the experts you need - who, by the way, are DOCTORS too.

Also, the claimant would have to have a great case to even make it through discovery without being dinged. Trial prep costs the claimant money too - much more money than what most people have, which suggests that the vast majority of valid claims aren't even brought to begin with because the person who was wronged can't afford to bring a case in the first place. It also suggests that the vast majority of cases being brought are the real thing - combine that with the checks and balances to survive things like summary judgment. Costs money to fight that off from doctors who think they can do no wrong too, and who have cash coming out of their ears. But oh, those poor doctors having to do their jobs right. All they have to do is perform to the medically accepted standard of care, which after 10-15 years of higher education, you'd think wouldn't be so tough to remember when you do the same sort of thing day in and day out - like deliver babies. There are so many outs for them as it stands, it's unbelievable.

But anyway, go ahead cue the wah-wahing about a doctor's right to make money hand over fist, because that's why everyone should be a doctor deep down in their heart-of-hearts, right? Getting rich and getting away with whatever goes wrong due to their mistakes, at the patient's expense.

Women in Iraq having a vaginal birth do not get pain meds, even in hospitals. I have a friend from Iraq and she had all 3 of her children in a hospital and no pain meds were available.

Wow alexis, believe it or not, people in Iraq have lives! Or did you think they were all just running around doing nothing but burning american flags?

Very interesting. I've only ever really thought about what religion does over here when it comes to medical treatment - like "conscience" laws about dispensing birth control and other ridiculousness - but I can see how it could potentially go to another level at the hands of any religion. Makes me sad to see people so brainwashed. My wife's gynecologist was Mormon and he and the other Mormon doctors used to go sing hymns over the noon hour - it was creepy. I guess it can get far, far worse.

OR, anesthesiologist, meds, more nursing staff, closer monitoring after surgery, longer hospital stay all add up. There is also more risk inherent in a surgical birth, so the OB must be compensated for assuming more liability.