C-section risks 'could affect 2nd-child policy'

A high cesarean section rate in China, particularly in recent years, could affect the new policy that allows all couples to have two children, according to obstetrics and gynecology experts.

After decades of a one-child policy, China adopted the second-child policy this year, and about 60 percent of the women now eligible are age 35 or older, government estimates show.

Pregnancy and baby delivery pose increasing health risks for mothers of that age as well as their newborns, said Li Kui, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Peking University First Hospital.