Brazil unveils new rules to curb country's caesarean 'epidemic'

Brazil has unveiled new rules aimed at stemming its “epidemic of caesareans”, and promoting natural births among private healthcare providers.

The health minister, Arthur Chioro, called Brazil’s obsession with cesareans, which account for more than eight out of 10 births handled by private health providers, a “public health problem”.

Under the requirements announced on Tuesday, health insurance companies will have to provide users with information about the percentage of caesareans performed by individual doctors and hospitals. Failure to provide the statistics in 15 days will result in hefty fines.

Currently, 84% of births covered by private health plans are caesareans, compared with 40% of total births in Brazil’s public hospitals, according to the statement. In the United States, just over 32% of all births are caesareans, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

“The epidemic of caesareans we see today in this country is unacceptable and there is no other way to treat it than as a public health problem,” the statement quoted Chioro as saying. “What’s normal are normal births.”

The statement said caesareans multiply the risk of respiratory illnesses by 120% among infants, and triple the risk of maternal mortality during childbirth.

Still, despite the risks, caesareans are widely seen in Brazil’s body-conscious culture as easier, more comfortable and less detrimental to mothers’ bodies. Physicians often favour them for their predictability and ease of scheduling.

Chioro denounced that logic, saying, “We cannot accept that caesareans be performed as a result of buying power or convenience.”

The new rules, which take force in six months, will affect the nearly 24 million Brazilian women who have private health plans that cover obstetric services.