Doctor shortage raises rural C-section rate

The lack of doctors in outstate Minnesota is affecting how rural women have babies. Because there are so few physicians in some rural counties, women there are more likely than urban women to give birth via Cesarean section, data compiled by a work group advising the Minnesota Department of Health show. The information, included in a report from the state Office of Rural Health and Primary Care, was presented by a panel Monday that was part of a two-day Minnesota Rural Health Conference. Health providers can't count on being able to mobilize a team of doctors and nurses quickly enough for a more spontaneous natural birth, according to the work group.