--- title: Brazil C-Section Law Looks to Cut Cesarean Births description: It might not work, though. canonical: https://time.com/3948349/brazil-tries-to-cut-high-rate-of-c-section-births/ author: Tanya Basu article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-07-07T18:45:59.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T09:01:49.923Z article:section: Health og:title: Brazil C-Section Law Looks to Cut Cesarean Births og:description: It's an upward battle in a country where women often prefer getting them og:url: https://time.com/3948349/brazil-tries-to-cut-high-rate-of-c-section-births/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Brazil C-Section Law Looks to Cut Cesarean Births twitter:description: It's an upward battle in a country where women often prefer getting them twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # Brazil Tries to Cut High Rate of C-Section Births  by [Tanya Basu](https://time.com/author/tanya-basu/)  ## Tanya Basu Jul 7, 2015 6:45 PM UTC  by [Tanya Basu](https://time.com/author/tanya-basu/)  ## Tanya Basu Jul 7, 2015 6:45 PM UTC It’s not a well-known fact, but Brazil is the C-section capital of the world: 85% of all deliveries in the country’s private hospitals are done by cesarean section, and 45% of births in public hospitals. Now, Brazil is attempting to[ reverse the trend](http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-33421376) with rules introduced Tuesday that require doctors to inform expectant mothers of the risks that accompany having a C-section. A woman who chooses a C-section must sign a consent form prior to the procedure. Her doctor must also sign a form justifying the C-section. The law is aimed at reducing the number of unnecessary C-sections that have been [criticized for their negative health consequences](http://time.com/3817774/c-sections-medically-necessary/); many wealthier women opt for cesarean births for their speed and predictability. But the issue driving the rate of C-sections in Brazilian maternity wards may in fact be a low bed count. The scarcity of beds, combined with hospitals ill-equipped to deal with natural births that can be unpredictable, is likely to keep the method of delivery popular. “The best way to guarantee yourself a bed in a good hospital is to book a cesarean,” Pedro Octavio de Britto Pereira, an obstetrician and professor with the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, told the BBC last year. \[[_BBC_](http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-33421376)\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3948349/brazil-tries-to-cut-high-rate-of-c-section-births/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3948349/brazil-tries-to-cut-high-rate-of-c-section-births/"},"headline":"Brazil Tries to Cut High Rate of C-Section Births","datePublished":"2015-07-07T18:45:59.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T09:01:49.923Z","description":"Over 8 in 10 births in private hospital are currently cesarean deliveries","url":"https://time.com/3948349/brazil-tries-to-cut-high-rate-of-c-section-births/","keywords":["health","Public Health","brazil","birth"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Tanya Basu","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/tanya-basu/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/health/","name":"health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3948349/brazil-tries-to-cut-high-rate-of-c-section-births/","name":"Brazil Tries to Cut High Rate of C-Section Births"}}]}] ```