Women's attitudes toward mode of delivery in South Korea--a society with high cesarean section rates.
BACKGROUND
In South Korea, cesarean section rates (i.e., the proportion of all live births delivered by cesarean section) approached 40 percent in 2000. The relative contribution of physicians and women to this high rate has been a source of debate. This study explored attitudes toward mode of delivery among South Korean women.


METHODS
A nationwide cross-sectional telephone survey of 505 Korean women aged 20 to 49 years was conducted using a proportionate quota and systematic random sampling method. The response rate was 57.3 percent. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire consisting of 7 questions about vaginal and cesarean delivery.


RESULTS
Over 95 percent of women preferred vaginal delivery during pregnancy and were willing to recommend this method to others. Of the women who delivered by cesarean section, 10.6 percent stated that they had requested a cesarean birth. Attitudes toward vaginal or cesarean delivery differed significantly according to a woman's education level.


CONCLUSIONS
Most study participants showed more favorable attitudes toward vaginal delivery than cesarean delivery. This result does not support the assumption that the upsurge of cesarean section rates in South Korea is associated with women's positive attitudes toward cesarean section. The main cause of the rapid rise of cesarean section rates in South Korea during the past two decades have its origins in health care practitioners and the health care system in which they work.
Lee
Sang-Il
SI
Departmrnt of Preventive Medicine, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, 388-1 Pungnap-2Dong, Songpa-Gu, Seoul 138-736, Korea.
Khang
Young-Ho
YH
Lee
Moo-Song
MS
D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001294:Attitude to Health; D002585:Cesarean Section / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D033182:Intention; D007723:Korea / Q000453:epidemiology; D008425:Maternal Behavior / Q000523:psychology; D008875:Middle Aged; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D009321:Natural Childbirth / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011203:Poverty; D011247:Pregnancy; D012494:Sampling Studies; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors; D016387:Women's Health