Illustration depicting the primary cesarean part carried out in Latin America in 1844, by Enrique Graue / Courtesy of the Worldwide Museum of Surgical Science
In accordance with the United Nations, the world welcomed roughly 132 million newborns in 2024. Of those, roughly 21 to 22 p.c have been born through cesarean part. In stark distinction, 67.4 p.c of the 235,234 infants born in South Korea that 12 months have been delivered by way of the surgical process, which includes an incision into the mom’s uterus.
The World Well being Group (WHO) recommends a C-section charge of 10 to fifteen p.c of all births, noting that the surgical procedure ought to be carried out solely when mandatory on account of dangers similar to extreme bleeding, an infection, organ harm and pulmonary embolism. The C-section charge is roughly 32 p.c in the USA and 18 p.c in Japan.
Korea’s peculiarly excessive charge displays the native notion that C-sections are safer than vaginal deliveries. Critics level out that the medical neighborhood usually encourages defensive practices to keep away from authorized legal responsibility for issues that may happen throughout pure childbirth.
Different contributing elements embody the need to keep away from labor ache, the cultural follow of choosing beginning dates primarily based on “saju” (fortune-telling), the getting old inhabitants of moms and the rise in fertility remedies. Some argue that the WHO’s beneficial requirements fail to adequately mirror present realities, such because the prevalence of high-risk pregnancies amongst older ladies.
Whereas affected person self-determination is an important worth in medical ethics, specialists argue it’s essential to scrutinize whether or not these statistics consequence from real “self-determination” or stress from the medical system.
There’s a important correlation between C-section charges and the incidence of huge maternal hemorrhages, hysterectomies and neonatal respiratory ailments. Specialists query whether or not the potential of long-term uncomfortable side effects, similar to placenta accreta, is being sufficiently communicated to moms.
The primary cesarean part — excluding myths and legends similar to these surrounding Julius Caesar — is alleged to have been carried out within the early sixteenth century by a Swiss veterinarian named Jacob Nufer on his spouse, who was affected by a troublesome labor.
Nonetheless, trendy medical historical past cites American obstetrician Jesse Bennett as the primary official use of the surgical procedure. On Jan. 14, 1794, Bennett operated on his spouse, efficiently saving each the mom and child.
This text from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Occasions, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Occasions.
