Most caesarean sections in Brazil are unwanted
BMJ 2001; 323 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.323.7322.0a (Published 17 November 2001) Cite this as: BMJ 2001;323:a
Despite the fact that the rate of caesarean sections in Brazil is high, research has shown that this does not necessarily reflect the wishes of women. The high rate derives from a moderately high rate in the public sector (31%) and a very high rate (72%) in the private sector, which has been used to suggest that upper and middle class women, who often have private medical insurance, prefer caesarean delivery. Potter and colleagues (p 1155) carried out a prospective study in four Brazilian cities to assess preferences before delivery and compared these preferences with outcomes. Despite a large difference in the caesarean rate between the public and private sectors, when interviewed antenatally nearly all women in both sectors said that they wanted a vaginal delivery.