Natural birth a tough sell in China's caesarean boom
- Published: 4 Jan 2013 at 10.45
- Online news: Asia
As an automatic piano chimed a wedding march, new mother Wang Dan walked down a red carpet towards a hospital room called the "White House", minutes after giving birth in a candlelit water pool.
A baby is seen in a water basin at Antai Hospital in Beijing, on November 28, 2012. The proportion of Chinese mothers choosing caesareans more than doubled in less than a decade, from around 20 percent in 2001 to above 46 percent in 2008 -- and approaching two-thirds in cities, according to the latest World Health Organization figures for the country.
The suite is adorned with an enormous rococo style sofa and a Mona Lisa portrait, and 28-year-old Wang, who gave birth to a son, said: "I wanted to stay in the White House because it's large and well decorated."
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