[demlosers]

"More than one fourth of all children born in 2002 were delivered by cesarean; the total cesarean delivery rate of 26.1 percent was the highest level ever reported in the United States. The number of cesarean births to women with no previous cesarean birth jumped 7 percent and the rate of vaginal births after previous cesarean delivery dropped 23 percent. The cesarean delivery rate declined during the late 1980s through the mid-1990s but has been on the rise since 1996."

26.1%? Why are cesarean deliveries so high?

[TenthAmendmentChampion]

My guess is to avoid malpractice suits where there is the slightest possibility of birth defects?

[tiamat]

Not so much birth defects... Fear of law-suit due to Mom or Kid dying.

I had a C-section. I am tiny. My Kid was nearly 8 pounds at birth.

Had I had her the traditional way, I would certainly have died and she might have.

[Mamzelle]

Better outcomes--or better perceived outcomes. You must realize how much behavior (not just in medicine, but everywhere) is now ruled by the desire to generate a "good faith" defense in the courtroom. That's because you won't have much else going for you when the lawyer cracks his whip...

Our GDP without the parasite class lawyers--sigh--we'd all be so much better off!! And lawyers multiply without mercy, like maggots teaming on bad meat. This tax, the lawyer tax, is probably far greater than our income tax as a burden on productivity. Most of our competitors abroad do not have this tax--and this is also driving our jobs offshore. Oh,well, send your kid to law school. There's a future in parasitism and scavenging.