
WASHINGTON, Feb. 15 (UPI) -- The proportion of U. S. women having their babies delivered by Caesarean section jumped to nearly 1 in 3 in 2005, a government report said.
The report of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, said the proportion had been 1 in 5 in 1995.
The report also said that about 1.3 million women gave birth via Caesarean section in 2005 -- a 38 percent increase over the 800,000 Caesarean sections performed in 1995.
The increase occurred as vaginal deliveries among women who gave birth in hospitals declined from about 3 million in 1995 to 2.9 million in 2005 -- a decrease of 3 percent. The sharpest decline in vaginal deliveries in hospitals was among women who had previously given birth by Caesarean section.
Hospitals charged $21.3 billion for patient stays involving vaginal delivery in 2005 and $17.4 billion for those involving birth by Caesarean section, the report said.
Cesarean section is a surgical method usually performed when a vaginal delivery would put the baby's or mother's life or health at risk. However, the procedure is performed during births that would otherwise have been normal, the report said.
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