Dominican Republic’s 56% tops region’s C-section rate
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Santo Domingo.- San Lorenzo de los Mina Hospital maternity director Víctor Calderón on Thurs. said C-sections are closely associated with the mother’s morbidity, due to circumstances ranging from complications with poor placement of anesthesia and marked hypotension, to the risk of bleeding and infection.
A study published in the scientific journal Plos One, Latin American and Caribbean have the world’s highest C-sections rates, as Dominican Republic leads with 56%, ahead of Brazil’s 54.6% and Mexico’s 45.2%.
In the Dominican Republic, four out of every 10 births in public hospitals are via cesarean section, while in private establishments the number doubles: nine out of every 10 births, according to data from the National Health Service, whose director Nelson Rodriguez, agrees.
He said the procedure is associated with increased maternal mortality in the country and adds that a process that is normally physiological such as pregnancy, has become a life risk for Dominican women.
He added that nine out of 10 patients who reach the ICU are due to infections acquired during a C-section.