Cesareans are surging in the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico, which has one of the world’s highest rates with more than 50% of babies now delivered via surgery compared with only 32% on the U.S. mainland, according to a federal report released Wednesday.
The rates of cesarean delivery on the island increased from 2018 to 2022 for each age group younger than 40 after remaining stable for nearly a decade, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
