Three in 10 are opting for the operating theater to avoid labor pains, putting the city-state among a group of countries at 30 percent.

More women are selecting caesarean births because they are afraid of labor pains, 20 specialists told The Sunday Times.

Chile, with 40 percent caesarean births, took the top spot followed by South Korea, with 36 percent and Taiwan, with 33 percent.

“There is a growing trend of women who want to go for the caesarean section without valid medical indication,” Dr Tan Kok Hian, deputy chairman of KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital’s obstetrics division, was quoted as saying.

Some women want to time their baby’s birth with an auspicious date. Geomancer Neo Zhen Jue said he sees about 25 couples a month asking for an auspicious birth day, up from five per month three years ago.

A doctor in private practice told the newspaper that gynecologists are more than happy to deliver by caesarean because it saves them time. While caesarean sections can be done within an hour, a normal delivery for a first-time mother can take up to 20 hours.

The risk of major complications with a caesarean birth is three to five times higher than with a vaginal birth, obstetrician Tan Thiam Chye said. Serious risks include anesthetic complications, hemorrhage, tissue damage, deep-vein thrombosis and infection.

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