Thus, two of the world’s most populous countries have had rapid
growth in caesarean sections without medical indications in the
past two decades, and then independently began steps to correct
an over-reliance on obstetric-led care through enhancement of
midwifery-led services. China and Brazil provide a cautionary case
study for those developing countries now modelling their
maternal and newborn care systems on those of the industrialised
countries that rely heavily on costly medical interventions to
improve maternal and infant outcomes in birth.