Thursday, April 28, 2011

Portrayal of caesarean section in Brazilian women’s magazines: 20 year review

Maria Regina Torloni, medical doctor12, Silvia Daher, medical doctor2, Ana Pilar Betrán, medical officer3, Mariana Widmer, technical officer3, Pilar Montilla, technical officer4, Joao Paulo Souza, medical officer3, Mario Merialdi, unit coordinator3


+ Author Affiliations

1Brazilian Cochrane Centre, Rua Pedro de Toledo 598, São Paulo, Brazil, CEP 04039-001

2Department of Obstetrics, São Paulo Federal University, Rua Napoleão de Barros 875, São Paulo, CEP 040024-002

3Department of Reproductive Health and Research, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland

4Osservatorio Nazionale sulla salute della Donna (O.N.Da), Milan, Italy

Correspondence to: M Torloni ginecologia@terra.com.br

Accepted 29 October 2010


Abstract

Objective To assess the quality and comprehensiveness of the information on caesarean section provided in Brazilian women’s magazines.



Design Review of articles published during 1988-2008 in top selling women’s magazines.



Setting Brazil, one of the countries with the highest caesarean section rates in the world.



Data sources Women’s magazines with the largest distribution during the study period, identified through the official national media indexing organisations.



Selection criteria Articles with objective scientific information or advice, comments, opinions, or the experience of ordinary women or celebrities on delivery by caesarean section.



Main outcome measures Sources of information mentioned by the author of the article, the accuracy and completeness of data presented on caesarean section, and alleged reasons why women would prefer to deliver though caesarean section.



Results 118 articles were included. The main cited sources of information were health professionals (78% (n=92) of the articles). 71% (n=84) of the articles reported at least one benefit of caesarean section, and 82% (n=97) reported at least one short term maternal risk of caesarean section. The benefits most often attributed to delivery by caesarean section were reduction of pain and convenience for family or health professionals. The most frequently reported short term maternal risks of caesarean section were increased time to recover and that it is a less natural way of giving birth. Only one third of the articles mentioned any long term maternal risks or perinatal complications associated with caesarean section. Fear of pain was the main reported reason why women would prefer to deliver by caesarean section.



Conclusions Most of the articles published in Brazilian women’s magazines do not use optimal sources of information. The portrayal of caesarean section is mostly balanced, not explicitly in favour of one or another route of delivery, but incomplete and may be leading women to underestimate the maternal/perinatal risks associated with this route of delivery.



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Introduction

A caesarean section is a surgical procedure that was developed to prevent or treat life threatening maternal or fetal complications. The proportion of births using caesarean delivery has been steadily increasing in most high income and middle income countries, despite the lack of sound scientific evidence indicating any substantial maternal or perinatal benefits from increasing rates of caesarean section and consistent reports of increased risks for the mother and baby.1 2 3 4 5 In many developed nations and in Latin America, approximately a third of all deliveries occur by caesarean section.6 In the past few decades, Brazil has been one of the countries with highest proportion of deliveries by caesarean section in the world.2 6 According to data from a national health survey, the overall caesarean section rate in Brazil in 2006 was 43.6%,7 but in the private sector it can be more than 80%.8 More than 850 000 unnecessary caesarean sections are being done each year in Latin America, and almost half of them occur in Brazil.2



Despite worldwide concern, debate, and research on this subject, the modifiable causes of rising caesarean section rates remain unclear. Without a better understanding of the possible causes and contributing factors for this tendency, developing and implementing effective strategies to help curb this upward trend and reduce the number of unnecessary caesarean sections will be difficult. This is important, as high rates of non-medically indicated caesarean section have financial implications and unnecessarily expose mothers and children to risks and consequences that are not yet fully understood.



Contemporary women are exposed to and have access to a wide range of information on health topics, including their options for childbirth. This exposure can influence their opinions and affect the decision making process.9 10 11 Additionally, women’s views and preferences on type of delivery are, for different reasons, being increasingly respected by practising obstetricians.12 13 Women’s magazines are one of the most ubiquitous sources of information and can play a critical role in shaping women’s opinions and influencing the decisions they make.9 However, to the best of our knowledge, the accuracy and comprehensiveness of the information on caesarean section compared with vaginal delivery presented in these magazines has not been evaluated.



In this context, we set out to review the top selling women’s magazines published in the past 20 years in Brazil, one of the countries with the highest rates of caesarean section in the world, to analyse the content of the articles that presented information or expressed views related to caesarean section. This is part of a larger worldwide multi-country investigation covering women’s magazines from countries in Europe, Latin America, and North America, where caesarean section rates are increasing in an unprecedented manner. Our hypothesis was that the information transmitted to women through this media was incomplete, biased in favour of caesarean section (possibly presenting it as a more beneficial route of delivery), or both.



The specific objectives of the review were to assess the sources of information that the magazine authors reported to have consulted for writing their articles; the accuracy and comprehensiveness of the information presented on caesarean section versus vaginal delivery; and the views, opinions, or preferences of ordinary women and celebrities about route of delivery and the alleged reasons or motives why they would prefer a caesarean section to a vaginal delivery.

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BMJ 2011; 342:d276 doi: 10.1136/bmj.d276 (Published 25 January 2011)


Cite this as: BMJ 2011; 342:d276




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