Editors' ChoiceIndications for cesarean deliveries in Norway☆,☆☆
Section snippets
Material and methods
All maternity units in Norway, with an expected number of at least 500 deliveries per year, were invited to participate in the survey. Twenty-four of 26 units accepted, which represented 70.9% of 34,084 births (n = 24,157) and 69.7% of 4721 cesarean deliveries (n= 3289) in Norway during the project period.
Ten of the participating units usually have >2000 births per year, and nine of the units usually have between 1000 and 2000 births.
The project period was from December 1, 1998, to July 1,
Data from the mbrn
The overall cesarean delivery rate in Norway during the study period was 13.9% and, among participating departments, was 13.6% (range, 8.8%-21.8%). Seventeen maternity units had a cesarean delivery rate between 11.6% and 15.6%, 3 units had a rate of <11.6%, and 4 units had a rate of >15.6%. The number of deliveries and cesarean delivery rates that were related to parity, previous cesarean delivery, gestational age, and maternal age are given in Table II.
Comment
The present prospective study gives detailed information on indications for cesarean deliveries in Norway. It describes two thirds of all cesarean deliveries in Norway during the survey period. The obstetrician who was responsible for making the decision to perform the cesarean delivery or who performed the delivery had to fill out a comprehensive form that described the cesarean delivery.
Prespecified indications were listed; priorities had to be stated in cases in which >1 indication was
Acknowledgements
The authors thank the Norwegian Medical Association for organizational and financial support.
References (26)
- et al.
Cesarean-section delivery in the 1980s: international comparison by indication
Am J Obstet Gynecol
(1994) Cesarean section: medical benefits and costs
Soc Sci Med
(1993)- et al.
Cardiotocography plus ST analysis of fetal electrocardiogram for intrapartum fetal monitoring: a Swedish randomized controlled trial
Lancet
(2001) - et al.
The cesarean birth epidemic: trends, causes, and solutions
Am J Obstet Gynecol
(1996) - et al.
Indications for cesarean section
Best Pract Res Clin Obstet Gynaecol
(2001) - et al.
The Term Breech Trial Collaborative Group: planned cesarean section versus planned vaginal birth for breech presentation at term: a randomised multicentre trial
Lancet
(2000) National hospital discharge survey: American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists newsletter
- et al.
Comparisons of national cesarean-section rates
N Engl J Med
(1987) - et al.
Cesarean birth rates worldwide
Trop Geograph Med
(1995) - et al.
British caesarean section rate: have we reached a plateau?
Br J Obstet Gynaecol
(1993)
Report on confidential enquiries into maternal deaths in England and Wales 1982-1984
Maternal mortality and morbidity in cesarean section
Clin Obstet Gynecol
Unnecessary cesarean sections. Curing a national epidemic
Cited by (0)
- ☆
Supported by the Norwegian Medical Association.
- ☆☆
Reprint requests: Toril Kolås, MD, Department of Obstetric and Gynecology, Lillehammer County Hospital, N-2629 Lillehammer, Norway.