News: Why do women elect C/S?

Article

While about half of first-time mothers requesting elective cesarean section have a clinically significant fear of childbirth, the other half just have more negative expectations of a vaginal delivery.

While about half of first-time mothers requesting elective cesarean section have a clinically significant fear of childbirth, the other half just have more negative expectations of a vaginal delivery, underscoring the need for better prenatal counseling and support, say the authors of a small group-comparison cohort study from Sweden.

Researchers included 496 first-time mothers who were 37 to 39 weeks' pregnant and followed them until 3 months postpartum. They found that only 43.4% of the women requesting a C/S scored above 84 on the Wijma Delivery Expectancy/Experience Questionnaire, which is the cutoff for a clinically significant fear of childbirth, versus 13.2% of a group of women expecting a vaginal delivery, and 6% of a group of women expecting a vaginal delivery but receiving a C/S due to a breech presentation.

Interestingly, the women in the two groups anticipating a vaginal delivery, but having an emergency C/S or assisted vaginal delivery, had a more negative experience of childbirth (P<.001), underscoring the need for better postnatal support.

Newsletter

Get the latest clinical updates, case studies, and expert commentary in obstetric and gynecologic care. Sign up now to stay informed.

Recent Videos
2 experts in this video
2 experts in this video
Melissa Furlong, PhD, links neighborhood deprivation to gestational diabetes risk | Image Credit: linkedin.com.
© 2025 MJH Life Sciences

All rights reserved.