DR1 Daily News - Dominican Republic

Diario Libre is reporting on what everyone knows in the Dominican Republic, but people have accepted as normal. In the Dominican Republic most births are by c-section. As reported in Diario Libre, the president of the Dominican Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Dr. Cesar Lopez recognizes the reason is an economical one. A C-section and a vaginal delivery here cost almost the same. For a vaginal birth, the physician needs to spend hours, not so for a c-section.

Cesarean birth is quite different from a vaginal delivery. In general, a C-section is a surgical procedure that takes about 45 minutes, whereas a vaginal birth can take hours. Another advantage to the physicians and the woman giving birth, is that cesareans can be scheduled, while vaginal deliveries are spontaneous.

Dr. Lopez says that health risk providers would have to pay physicians more for vaginal...