Perceptions of Childbirth Among Undergraduates

Abstract

In 2017, over 3.8 million babies were born in the United States (Hamilton et. al, 2018). Of these births, 1.2 million were born via cesarean section. This translates to a cesarean delivery rate of 32.0%, which is over three times the rate recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO, 2015). A cesarean birth rate greater than 10% of all births indicates that the procedure is being done in the absence of medical necessity, and at risk to the health and safety of the woman giving birth. There is also excessive use of medical interventions such as amniotomy, continuous electronic fetal monitoring, labor induction, and episiotomy; which have been shown to have little to no benefit to mother or baby, while increasing the risk of cesarean section and contributing to the high maternal mortality in the United States (Goer, Leslie, & Romano, 2007). To understand what influences women to decide to have excessive interventions during childbirth, one must first look at the underlying cultural values in the society she lives in.