overweight/obese mothers correlate with higher C-section rates? (atleast in US?)

[MonstHer]

So, I was asking my doctor about the C-section rate at the hospital. He said it's changed to 33%, which is around the national average in America.
(I'm at a US military hospital in Japan)
I asked him why is it so high?
He said one of the main reasons is because women's BMI's have been getting higher and higher over the last few decades. He's been in practice for a long while and that was his own opinion.
Now, some of the non-USer's may balk at that, stating insurance pay-outs are really the reason, but the military health-care system overseas is ran almost exactly like the UK NHS. They don't WANT to spend the extra money if they can help it.

After talking him, I sort of see what he's talking about.
I also used to work as a surgical technologist back in the states, and it's mostly true, nearly ALL the women getting C-sections done were very overweight or obese. (There were some exceptions, of course, such as breech, or multiples, or placenta previa/abrubtion, but most full termers coming through the OR had higher BMI's to begin with).

I think part of it is because practitioners don't know how to deal with it and they haven't yet had the chance to retain a new skill set such as these. It's just easier all around.

I also think it DOES go hand in hand with America's obesity rates. We ARE one of the fattest nations in the world, if not the fattest, and it just makes sense. Certainly not ALL of the C-sections are needed because inductions or the money or whatever. The obesity rates SHOULD be taken into account when considering this.

Obviously, being obese or overweight has it's major and minor complications during pregnancy, but what do you ladies and gents think about what he said?

 

[Blah11]

I disagree with him. I think the main reason is that csections and inductions have become a part of the normal way to birth in the US

Did he say WHY he thought overweight women had more a chance of a csection anyway? I'd of thought major surgery was more of a risk to women with high BMIs than a natural birth would be?

 

[Nibblenic]

I personally think the reason C-sections are higher int he Usa is that inductions and epidurals are seen as the norm. These create a false labor and child birth which isnt natural, so the body struggles to react naturally to it, needing intervention in 33% of cases.

I had a induction/epidural/then emergency c-section. I am overweight.

I had an induction due to not being able to walk at the end of my pregnancy, which was 30% spd and 70% my degenerating spine problem, which i couldnt take full painkillers for in and epidural because I couldnt lay on my back for 72 hours and they couldnt get the constant trace they needed for the induction (took me 3 days to walk properly after being made to do that) and an emergency c-section as lo was very very stuck and her heart stopped.

Would any of that happened if i hadnt been induced? Well whos to say, but i reckon my chances of and emergency c-section would have been greatly reduced. I dont think it had anything to do with my weight at all but i will be a part of the statistic about obese women and c-sections

 

[Eternal]

I agree with the two previous posts, and like Blah11 said, surgery risks are higher if someone is obsese, so surley that contradicts it.

interventions lead to interventions and higher use of epiduals and inductions lead to higher rates of sections.

i dont think size has any influance on someone needing a section, have you seen how much fat would need to be cut away, ideal canidates would be smaller ladies in reality.

ive been a nurse and seen doctors flat out refuse people surgery due to weight issues, the bigger the preson the more problematic the surgery and the higher risk of complictions.

 

[Dimples81]

https://rcogcourses.org.uk/topics/obesity in pregnancy.pdf

https://www.nhs.uk/Planners/pregnancycareplanner/Pages/Overweight.aspx

This would suggest that because there are more risks associated with being pregnant and obese there would be a higher likelihood of intervention coz of these risks.

Thus yes they do.

 

[DLA]

I definitely think the obesity rate has something to do with it. Our C section rate is no doubt high but around 19% of that 33% is repeat C sections. With obesity comes obesity-related illness then comes more chance of pregnancy complications (like diabetes, hypertension etc), which is of course going to put you at greater risk of a C section. Everyone seems to jump to interventions being the reason which is not entirely true. Induction does raise your risk rate. Epidurals however don't increase your chances of a C section which is why the National Institute of Health changed their statement regarding epidurals and c sections after research proved that to be not true.

I definitely think the high c section rate is caused by multiple factors and obesity is a pretty significant one.

 

[MonstHer]

I did ask, and he said pretty much DLA said.