Cesarian Section in Iran is 4 times world's standard

According to a report published in Khabar Online, Iran scores second in the world in terms of number of cesarian section and cosmetic nose surgical operations. The report says that in many provinces the administrative statistics show that between 30 and 50 percent of deliveries are completed through cesarian section operation.

Source: Khabar Online, News Code: 57202
Accessed on Monday, April 26, 2010 at http://www.khabaronline.ir/news-57202.aspx

My comments: 1. To make this worse I would say that the majority of cesarian section operations are being performed under general anesthesia. Local (subdural) anesthesia that has a lower risk of complications is not the dominant mode of anesthesia in obstetrics in Iran 2. Based on a cross sectional study in Tehran , in private hospitals about 80% of all deliveries are done through cesarian section. Also, the results of this study show that the main reason to select cesarian section over normal vaginal delivery is pregnant mother's/ her husband's request for cesarian delivery.

Reference for the second tip: Garmaroudi G. et al. Cesarean section prevalence in Tehran, Iran. Annu Meet Int Soc Technol Assess Health Care Int Soc Technol Assess Health Care Meet. 2003; 19: abstract no. 16. Accessed on Monday, April 26, 2010 at http://gateway.nlm.nih.gov/MeetingAbstracts/ma?f=102275934.html