Addressing Rising Caesarean Rates: Maternal Request Caesareans, Defensive Practice and the Power of Choice in Childbirth

The number of caesarean sections performed in high-income economies has been rising for decades. In this paper I expand on feminist scholarship to argue that the likely explanation for this trend is defensive practice in obstetrics. I argue that the harm caused by defensive practice is that women are not being empowered to choose their childbirth. I demonstrate that this same harm is evident when women are denied the opportunity to opt for an elective caesarean. In this paper I seek to demonstrate how routinely offering women elective caesareans is the best solution to rising caesarean rates in high-income economies.