Choosing the time to give birth: Many potential risks!

“Wishing the baby to be born on a good day and time, fear of pain during normal birth, and the belief that cesarean section is safe for both mother and baby... are the reasons why the cesarean section rate is increasing and is expected to increase rapidly and pose many potential risks.”

A normal birth at Tu Du Hospital, Ho Chi Minh City

That is the information shared by Dr. Pham Thanh Hai, Deputy Director of Tu Du Hospital, at the 2025 Obstetrics and Pediatrics Scientific Conference with the theme: "Maternal and child care: Innovating practices, improving quality standards", recently held in Ho Chi Minh City.

According to Dr. Pham Thanh Hai, currently, cesarean section is the most common surgery in the field of obstetrics and gynecology in the world and this rate continues to increase over time. At Tu Du Hospital, this rate accounts for about 40% of the total number of births. Caesarean section (also known as cesarean section, cesarean section) is a surgical procedure performed to remove the baby from the mother's womb through an incision in the abdomen and uterus. This is a common procedure to ensure the safety of mother and baby when normal birth is unsafe or impossible.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO) and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), cesarean section should be performed in cases such as: the fetus is too large, the fetus is abnormally positioned (breech, transverse, etc.); the mother has medical conditions such as preeclampsia, placenta previa, uterine rupture, etc.; prolonged labor, no progress; acute fetal distress (severe decrease in fetal heart rate) and especially do not choose cesarean section without medical indication, because it can increase the risk of complications.

MSc. Le Xuan Duc shared at the conference

According to MSc. Dr. Le Xuan Duc, Medical Director of Thuan My TDM Hospital, in recent years, the rate of cesarean section in Vietnam and globally has tended to increase year by year. This rate in our country has increased from about 15% in 2005 to 27-30% in 2022.

The reasons stem from several main factors: the desire of the family and the mother to "choose a good day and time", the fear of pain during normal birth, and the belief that cesarean section is safer for both mother and baby. In addition, partly because the mother had a cesarean section in the previous birth, the subsequent births are also likely to require surgical intervention.

According to Dr. Bach Van Cam - senior consultant for emergency resuscitation at Children's Hospital 1 (HCMC), the hospital has received a number of cases of newborns suffering from respiratory failure due to premature cesarean sections. Caesarean sections are becoming a "trend" as more and more families choose them without fully assessing the risks to newborns if the intervention is not indicated correctly.

"C-section before 39 weeks increases the risk of respiratory failure in the baby, especially if born too early before 36 weeks, this risk is even higher because the lungs are not fully developed. Vaginal birth is still the best method when there is no mandatory indication for C-section," Dr. Bach Van Cam advised.

According to the recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), the rate of cesarean section should be maintained at less than 15% of all births and cesarean section should not be performed on demand without a clear medical reason. The decision of whether a pregnant woman has a cesarean section or a normal birth is not made by the pregnant woman but by the obstetrician after considering the risk factors to give a direction to ensure a safe birth process.

THANH AN

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/chon-gio-de-sinh-tiem-an-nhieu-rui-ro-post823716.html