Caesarean delivery rates have risen, seemingly inexorably, through the latter decades of the 20^th century and into the current millennium. While most experts agree that overall caesarean rates remain higher than necessary, debate continues on what optimal caesarean delivery rates should be as well as where to focus efforts to increase the likelihood of women having safe vaginal deliveries. Much of this debate has revolved around the long-standing contention that obstetric populations are sufficiently varied that comparison of simple percent caesarean delivery rates is largely meaningless.

中文翻译：

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使用数据来推动产科实践政策

^{从 20世纪}的后几十年到现在的千禧年，剖腹产率似乎不可阻挡地上升。尽管大多数专家都同意总体剖宫​​产率仍然高于必要水平，但关于最佳剖腹产率应该是多少以及应该将重点放在哪里以增加女性安全阴道分娩的可能性的争论仍在继续。这场辩论的大部分都围绕着长期以来的争论，即产科人口差异很大，简单的剖宫产百分比比较在很大程度上是没有意义的。