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Just over a third of births in the USA is by C-section.
Which is well over the average of about 20% as advised by the WHO.

Globally, C sections have been on the rise for decades.

Source
https://www.who.int/news/item/16-06-...ties-in-access

Jeroen

Wow, thanks. Didn't know.

I'd always assumed that natural birth (in some cases even without epidurals) was the norm there, like in most places in the West.

I stand corrected.

One thing is that C births can be scheduled to suit the medical teams. I am uncertain now, it's a long time since I left, and an even longer time since my friends were giving birth, but I think this used to happen in Britain, and some women felt pressured to fit in with the hospitals rather than the other way around. Jeroen will be better informed on this.

Yes, although most likely you will similar effects in many countries these days. If you look at birth statistics you will see that fewer babies get born on weekends. Doctors would rather prefer to do a C-section late Friday afternoon rather than not being able to tee off on Saturday morning.

Also, I think these days it is considered a bit as a status symbol being able to have a C section rather than a natural birth. Having witnessed all three births of our children I would be the first to agree it is a rather messy affair and can be very painful for the woman.

Having said that, a C-section is a real operation. It involves a large incision cutting through all kinds of tissue. Most doctors and medical associations will tell you natural birth is a far more safe option for the mother and child. Unless there are indication to the contrary. So C-sections ought to be the exemption rather than the rule.

Jeroen

- A good number of births happen in small maternity hospitals run by a single Gynecologist who neither is motivated nor has time to wait all day for the baby to pop out.

- Our people are crazy about auspicious times, days, alignment of stars, position of space ships and what not.

- I think think there is a factor of women not wanting to go through the painful process of child birth. I don't blame them.

All the above factors seem to result in almost every birth in my extended family and friends being via C-section in recent days. My wild guess is that very few of these are due to medical conditions.

But I don't believe the crappy article from NDTV that does not quote reliable sources. From my own son's birth in the US many years back, I remember the midwife and the doctors tried for very long before warning and advising my wife to go for a C section as it was medically risky for the baby. Natural birth and breast feeding for the longest possible time were two things that new mothers were encouraged to do by the doctors.

Could the dropping fertility rates also be a contributing factor to increase in c-sections? It is a more common procedure following infertility treatments, and once you've had a c-section, it is recommended for subsequent pregnancies as well, regardless of how they are conceived.

Not sure, I think it does as women who go this way tend to suffer from more complications.

In addition related to IVF treatment is that it often leads to twins, triples, quadruples and so on. I think they often go the C section in case of multiple babies.

Jeroen

In 2023, Reader's Digest conducted a Lost Wallet Test in a whole of large cities around the world.

Most Honest Cities: The Reader’s Digest “Lost Wallet” Test

https://www.rd.com/list/most-honest-...t-wallet-test/

This could help you decide where you want to migrate... :)

No. They selected 16 cities and ranked only those 16 cities.

I was very surprised that Tokyo (or any other Japanese city) was not in the list, so read it again:).

I opened the article just to see where Mumbai was ranked and was happy to know its still at the top. My Facebook post from 12+ years ago when I once used to post :)



Here is NYC if you park your car overnight in the wrong neighborhoods it common to see your wheels gone in the morning !

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nn9aZq9n0oE

No car is too special to be spared !

Mine is not a very large city; nor is it one that is probably on the radars of many potential international immigrants: but I recently experienced an instance of utmost honesty and mentioned it here.

But NYC is right behind Mumbai in the ranking, with 8 out of 12 wallets.

Since both your examples are from Bronx, I have to say it depends on where in Bronx. When my wife and I joined distance MBA in 2001, we were supposed to write all our exams at World Trade Center, which was destroyed before we could write the first exam. So we wrote exams at different exam centers all around Manhattan (Wall Street, Rockefeller center, etc) , but we wrote most of the exams at Lehman College, Bronx.

First time I found that we were supposed to write at Bronx, I almost cancelled the exam. But there was no other choice. So I drove my new Acura 3.2 TL from NJ to Bronx and parked in some street. I almost didn't expect the car when I came back. Later I felt the bad reputation of Bronx was exaggerated, I never felt any fear walking/parking/driving around Lehman college many more times. May be Lehman college is in the better part of Bronx?

Interesting experiment with the wallet!

Almost everybody has a wallet. And most of us will know how much pain and inconvenience it will cause when you lose it. Not necessarily the financial pain, but the hassle of having to block all your credit/debit cards, re apply for drivers license, ID card and a bunch of other stuff. I rarely have more than €100 in my wallet, usually less. But it would take my many many hours behind the computer to sort out the loss of all the plastic cards in my wallet. Most likely it would also require going to the police to file a formal report and going to banks and council hall. It doesn't bear thinking.

So I think many people will recognize the pain and hassle of losing one’s wallet and are happy to help return it to its rightfully owner. Not sure if it was just a wallet with nothing but some money.

We had a nice experience last year. We live in a tiny rural village in the Netherlands. So for shopping we need to go to Gorinchem, the nearest little provincial town. Our daughter was visiting us and popped over to the shopping centre in Gorinchem, its only a 10 minute drive. When she came home she somehow managed to lose her bank card. She called the bank. They informed here that her card had already been found. They provided her with the phone number of a very nice lady. She noticed the car in front of the supermarket, picked it up and called the bank immediately and gave them her number.

My daughter called her, picked up a nice bunch of flowers and picked up her bank card.

Jeroen

I lived in London for about thirty years. It scores 2-1 for me on wallets.

Good News 1: I left my wallet on a table in a pub, in quite a rough area. Didn't even realise until the next day. Thought there was hardly any point in going back, but did, and the lady at the bar immediately produced and gave it to me. Contents untouched.

Good News 2: Left my wallet on the seat of a tube train. Again, didn't think there was any hope, but received a small package in the post a few days later. Wallet. Complete.

Bad News 1: Rushing in and out of sweets/tobacco shop on my way to work. Got to work, no wallet in pocket. Ran to shop: nothing.

Chennai about twenty years ago: left my purse and keys at a concert hall. It was not far from home and I was on foot. Arrived at my front door. Ahh... no keys. Walked briskly back: they were where I left them.

I absolutely do not expect to have the same luck with my camera bag. I have left my ordinary bag in many places, and always got it back. If I ever realise that my camera bag is no longer with me I probably won't survive the heart attack even! It's contents are worth more than my 10-year-old car. Still, I find most people to be honest. But hey, the saying is trust in god but tether your camels.

Ahh the famous wallet test...remember being quite amused that Mumbai features high up in the honest list but on second thoughts, among Indian cities at least it is one of teh safer ones. At least feels that way to me but I may be biased!

I would think New Zealand cities would rate highly if they ever conducted such honesty tests there. I am usually very careful with my stuff and don't remember any instance of losing my wallet but my house keys had slipped out of my jeans when sitting on the lawns at an Auckland park watching the Chinese New Year fireworks. I was in absolute panic because it was quite late and those were the only keys I had and didn't fancy calling the landlord who lived in a different part of the city at that hour for a replacement.

After searching futilely in the general area where we had been sitting, someone suggested the Lost & Found box by the entrance. Sure enough, someone had found my keys and dropped it off there. Strictly speaking not an honesty test since there was no way to tell which apartment block and number it belonged to but still...it was nice of them, they didn't have to return it.