Caesareans account for 6 out of 10 births in Greece
Six out of 10 births in Greece are by caesarean section, compared to 25% in Northern, Western and Eastern Europe, according to World Health Organization data published in 2021.
Experts point to many reasons including the “easy birth” mentality of many mothers-to-be and in some cases doctors, and conditions within maternity hospitals. “There are public hospitals where an epidural injection, or ‘painless delivery’ as it is called, is impossible due to a lack of anesthetists, and when the woman is in pain during delivery she asks for a caesarean,” said Nikolaos Vrachnis, associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Athens Medical School.
A study titled “Engage,” by the Hellenic Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology and the University of Athens involving 22 public and private obstetric and gynecological clinics, found 58% of deliveries were caesareans, with a variation, depending on the clinic, from 47% to 70%.
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