Hello, my name is Tiffanie and I am currently a junior nursing student at the University at Buffalo in New York State. My assignment is to choose a topic pertinent to the current Ob-Gyn nurse and to get some current nurses' opinions on the topic. The topic that I would like your opinion on is the seemingly increasing rates of C-Sections. Cesarean sections have been on the rise in first-time mothers and currently constitute 22% of total U.S. births. There is a common belief that doctors' habits may overshadow the actual need for a C-section. While doing my clinical rotation in the labor & delivery ward of a suburban-Buffalo hospital, more than half of the patients that I cared for on any given day had delivered via C-section. Most of these patients were young women and some were on their first pregnancy and birth.
I would like to know what you feel about this topic. Do you believe there is a growing rate of unnecessary C-sections? What do you feel are the factors influencing the rise in C-section rates? What do you feel is the nurse's role in this growing trend?