Live long enough in the world and you’ll begin to see why it’s such an interesting place. In many parts of the world, women would rather give birth naturally if they had their way, but things are different among the wealthy people in Brazil. Women in Brazil prefer a C-section to natural birth, even going as far as making it into a special occasion, something like a party with all the glitz and glamour.
Women in Brazil prefer C-section to natural birth
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The hospital room is decorated with chocolates and cakes arranged on silver trays, plus crystal vases filled with roses, before the guests begin to arrive. Mariana Casmalla has been readied for the occasion, “buffed, primped and polished,” according to the Independent, in preparation for her C-section.
“It’s a special occasion,” explains Casmalla, a 28-year-old dental surgeon. “Don’t we get dressed up for parties and special dates? It’s the same thing.”
Preferring to go for elective C-section has been a sign of wealth in Brazil for some time now. The wealthy go for surgery because they see it as a way of avoiding the unpredictability of natural birth. According to the Public Health Ministry, C-section makes up for 55.5 per cent of all deliveries in Brazil. In private hospitals, it goes up to 84 per cent! For all hospitals in the United States, the rate is 32.9 per cent and about 29 per cent in the UK.
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This party-like way of delivery has prompted caterers, makeup artists, and party planners to turn their attention to the hospital. Their job is to produce a wedding-like atmosphere before friends and family arrive. They watch the mother give birth from a gallery built especially for this purpose.
Natural delivery vs C-section
This practice of choosing to go for a C-section has left health professionals conflicted. This is because for a long time the World Health Organisation has been pushing to discourage people from elective C-section. Which is due to the fact that they are nearly twice as deadly for mothers than natural births. It also requires a longer recovery time for mothers and babies.
For this reason, health officials in Brazil have been doing their best to encourage rich people to do away with this habit. The difference in risks is so clear that it shouldn’t take much to make the right decision. Although other factors come into play.
Image: Shutterstock
C-section is more expensive than a natural birth, and while the risk of maternal death in private hospitals is low, the risk of infection and haemorrhage is more likely in an elective C-section. High rates of respiratory distress, diabetes and high blood pressure in babies have all been linked to C-section.
Also read: Mum says C section scar prevented her from having more babies
Source: Independent
