Another factor contributing to high C-section rates is the increase in induced labor, especially between 37 weeks and 38 weeks of gestation — a period obstetricians describe as "early term." (While any birth between 37 weeks and 41 weeks is considered full term, some experts distinguish the earlier period.) The use of labor induction in the U.S. has risen from less than 10% of deliveries to more than 22%, between 1990 and 2006, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and research suggests that induced labor results in C-sections more often than natural labor. A study published in the July issue of the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology found that among more than 7,800 women giving birth for the first time, those whose labor was induced were twice as likely to have a C-section delivery as those who experienced spontaneous labor.
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