1 in 2 Births in China Delivered by Cesarean Section

The latest survey by the World Health Organization also warns unnecessary C-sections jeopardize women's health by raising the risk of complications.

Our reporter Xu Weiyi has more.

A growing number of women in China are choosing C-sections over vaginal delivery. Dr. Chen Zhe, Chief Resident Doctor and Obstetrician from Beijing's Renmin Hospital, explains fear of labor and pain is one of the major reasons.

"Every pregnant woman hopes for a short delivery, and a delivery with no complications, virginal delivery means pain, maybe a certain period of severe pain."

Apart from tocophobia, Chinese women choose cesarean birth since they believe it is safer for the baby, especially when many choose to give birth late.

Pauline McDonagh Hull, editor of Electivecesarean.com, explains:

"They believe that it is save for the baby and save for themselves, it is particularly with china, what interesting is, what I feel when I read the researches, a number of studies many in Beijing. It is doubted to be informing the women more about the risks than we have here. So one of the reason we could be saying, the risks in china going faster than here because of their confident risks, so they believe that it is save for the baby and themselves."

The rate of C-section has grown almost 10 times from the 1970s to reach 46 percent today, far above the 15 percent rate thought reasonable by the WHO.

After the latest survey, the UN health agency noted that C-sections had reached "epidemic proportions" in China and many other countries worldwide, like 31 percent in the United States, 36 percent in Vietnam, and 34 percent in Thailand.

Xu Weiyi, CRI news.