On the whole, the C-section is considered a safe way for a child to be born. It is widely practiced and often used when the child is not able to be born properly — such as when it is in the wrong position and both the mother and child are in danger.
However, a C-section is still major surgery. Like any other procedure, it comes with some serious risks. How many people pass away after this procedure every year?
A C-section is still much riskier than a traditional birth
The risks are not something you want to ignore. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (ACOG) has studied the data and determined that every 100,000 C-sections leads to 13 maternal deaths. At the same time, every 100,000 traditional vaginal births lead to just four maternal deaths. This indicates that it is more than three times as risky to have a C-section.
Granted, it does depend on the level of care that you get. These risks are not all inherent to the surgery itself. For instance, you will have an anesthesiologist who will stay with you for the entire procedure, monitoring your condition and giving you the medications needed. If that person were to give you too much anesthesia or if they got distracted and did not monitor your levels properly, that puts you in far greater danger than you would be normally.
If something like that happens to you and your child passes away, you suffer serious injuries or — if you’re not the one giving birth — your spouse or partner passes away, then you absolutely need to know about the legal options you have.
