More than 36 percent of births here are C-sections, or cesareans, making Brazil the world leader in the surgery. In some private hospitals, the rate climbs as high as 85 percent. The United States, with 21 percent of births by C-section, is the only country that comes close to Brazil's rate. Health experts say a reasonable rate is 15 percent. In a cesarean, the baby is delivered by cutting through the mother's abdominal and uterine walls.
Many Brazilian doctors are staunch advocates of cesareans.
In Araujo's opinion, most women shouldn't have normal births. They avoid a lot of problems, and by not deforming the vaginal canal, they preserve a woman's partner's sexual pleasure. Brazil's Ministry of Health estimates mothers are three times as likely to die during cesareans than during normal births, and four times as likely to get infections. Recent government statistics show that 114 of every 100,000 women die in childbirth in Brazil. Brazilian doctors who support the use of cesareans say the deaths are due to poor health conditions, not to the operations.