Brazilian doctors who support the use of cesareans say the deaths are due to poor health conditions, not to the operations. Certainly we should have acted a long time ago, but at least we're doing something now. But it won't be an easy fight. In Brazil, studies show the more educated the woman, the more likely she will choose a cesarean. And private insurance plans don't reimburse women for anesthesia during normal births, but they pay all costs for cesareans.
Many women say they feel more secure having a C-section, viewing it as the modern way to give birth.
Some, say doctors, even pick their children's birth dates in accordance with astrological signs. For poor women, the surgery has been a convenient way to be sterilized, as a form of birth control. Sterilization was not allowed under health plans until last year, so many women conspired with their doctors to have their fallopian tubes tied during a cesarean. Pedrosa noted that a doctor's recommendation carries extraordinary weight, and doctors have personal reasons to prefer cesareans. The surgeries pay more and they can take as little as half an hour to perform.