Beijing: Women in China's big cities are choosing natural childbirth over cesareans, reversing a decades-long trend during the controversial one-child policy in which C-sections were favoured due to convenience and reduced risk.
China's C-section rate is the highest in the world, with cesarean sections used in 47 per cent of all births in 2013. The World Health Organisation's recommended rate is less than 15 per cent. Limited to one child, especially in urban areas, women sought C-sections for their convenience and reduced risk to newborns, even though recovery times increased for mothers and surgery presented its own dangers.
However, since the second-child policy started in January, women have been considering the risks associated with C-sections more carefully, state-run China Daily reported today. Liu Yuli, who is six months pregnant, is among those
planning a natural delivery. The 31-year-old Beijing resident is health conscious as she records her daily calorie intake, controls her diet carefully and takes a yoga class twice a week.
She sees the precautions as necessary for an easier delivery in September and a potential second child in the future. "Maintaining a balanced diet and not eating too much will prevent the baby from being overweight," Liu said. "And sufficient exercise makes a natural delivery easier," she said. Liu's older sister, who has a 3-year-old son, had an abortion last year after the foetus became embedded in the scar tissue from her previous cesarean.
"It's a painful experience, both physically and mentally. Many women like us are willing to have one more child. A natural delivery is good for mother and baby, and can also reduce the risks of a life-threatening pregnancy, so I will try," Liu said. The government introduced new exceptions to the one-child policy in late 2013, although they varied from region to region.
Since January 1, all couples have been allowed to have a second child, and the number of cesarean sections has dropped. Sam Liu, chair of obstetrics and gynaecology at Beijing United Family Hospital, said doctors are among those
encouraging pregnant women to choose natural childbirth.
Compared with a natural delivery, C-section is more invasive, it takes longer for mothers to recover and brings higher risks of infection and other gynaecological diseases, Liu said. Women who want a second child should try a natural
delivery for the first birth if there is no compelling reason for a C-section, Liu said.
"Last year, more women who had C-sections previously went to the hospital and said they were willing to try a natural birth," she said, adding that more than 80 per cent of these mothers delivered their second baby naturally.
