Obstetricians’ Opinions of the Optimal Caesarean Rate: A Global Survey

The debate surrounding the optimal caesarean rate has been ongoing for several decades, with the WHO recommending an “acceptable” rate of 5–15% since 1997, despite a weak evidence base. Global expert opinion from obstetric care providers on the optimal caesarean rate has not been documented. The objective of this study was to examine providers’ opinions of the optimal caesarean rate worldwide, among all deliveries and within specific sub-groups of deliveries. This data collection contains a list of national caesarean rates compiled by Gibbons et al. in 2012, which has been updated with the most recent available estimates at the time of the survey from the WHO Global Health Observatory and Demographic and Health Survey reports. Geographical region was categorised according to the WHO classification, and country income level according to the World Bank classification.

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