Caesarean Section Delivery: Issue, Rates, Indications and Contraindications, Causes of Increasing Rates, Interventions to Reduce Rates
摘要
Caesarean Delivery or Caesarean Section defines the birth of a foetus and the removal of the placenta and membranes through laparotomy and hysterotomy. It represents the most commonly performed surgical abdominal procedure in many countries. The CS rate has dramatically increased worldwide over the past 30 years. The increasing use of CS is relevant in several countries; otherwise, in many low- and middle-income countries, there is inadequate access to justified, often life-saving, CS (Boatin et al., BMJ 360: k55, 2018; Boerma and Ronsmans, Lancet 394(10192): 25, 2019). Evidence-based CS has a significant role in preventing maternal and infant mortality and morbidity outcomes. On the other hand, non-evidence-based CS is associated with increased short-term and long-term maternal and neonatal–perinatal complications, including anaesthesia-related complications, post-operative infections, haemorrhagic and thromboembolic risks and even maternal death, mostly when repeated, as compared to vaginal delivery (VD) (Betran et al., BJOG 123(5): 667–70, 2016). Moreover, CS has higher costs than natural childbirth. Non-evidence-based CS is a challenging issue. Several studies displayed the main factors of this dramatic topic to design clinical and non-clinical interventions in reducing rates of inappropriate and avoidable CSs (Boatin et al., BJOG 125(1): 36–42, 2018).