The caesarean section rate: Much ado about nothing?

Abstract

In 1985, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended that population-based caesarean section (CS) rates should be between 10 and 15%. This recommendation was based on expert consensus opinion in response to what was considered an unjustified increase in the CS rate. Since then, more recent reports of international CS rates have vared between 6 and 27%, depending on the population studied. Ecological studies in the last decade have not been able to determine the ‘perfect’ CS rate, with some studies estimating that it is below, while others reporting it to be above, the hallowed 15%.