for non-medical reasons across East Asia:
"Once considered a procedure reserved for emergencies or high-risk
pregnancies, Caesareans are now commonly planned for a variety of non-
medical reasons, including fear of labor pain, convenience for the
doctor and the patient, and astrology.
In a region that lives by time-is-money production schedules at
footwear and computer chip factories, the elective Caesarean brings
clockwork and clinical tidiness to one of humankind's most stubbornly
unpredictable processes.
Meanwhile, medical advances that have made the procedure safer and
more routine have also, paradoxically, helped reinforce age-old
superstitions. Couples in Chinese-influenced cultures have long tried
to time births for auspicious years. Now, many can refine their
choice to the day and minute.
...
At St. Paul's hospital in Hong Kong, where the Caesarean rate is
about 70 percent, couples are charged extra if they select a time of
birth between midnight and 7:30 a.m.
...
Doctors and hospitals alike have a financial incentive to perform
Caesareans, especially at private hospitals. At Phayathai 3, a
"Caesarean package" - four days and three nights in a private
hospital room - costs 41,900 baht, or about $1,200. That is 40
percent more expensive than the typical vaginal birth."
"Asia's rise in Caesarean sections? It's in the stars," International
Herald Tribune, May 9, 2007
