Santo Domingo.- Cristal (fictitious name) began to have pain around 6:00 in the morning of May 29 of this year. They were getting stronger and more frequent. Two hours later, she arrived at a private health center, where she was informed that she dilated four centimeters and that that day she would have her baby, although she had not broken water.
She wanted a vaginal delivery, as her pregnancy went smoothly. However, before the suggestion of her doctor that a delivery of this type would be very painful and that she was not sure that she could do it, Cristal decided on a cesarean section, without the specialist detailing the risks.
These procedures continue to increase in the Dominican Republic, while vaginal deliveries are declining. Cesarean sections rose five percentage points from 58% in 2014 to 63%, according to the Enhogar MICS 2019 survey by the National Statistics Office and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). The study adds that the current figure is 90% in private health centers.