THE government’s relaxed family planning rules have resulted in a drop in the number of pregnant women opting to have their babies by caesarean section, experts attending a forum as part of National Week Against Pain in Shanghai said yesterday.

　　Duan Tao, president of Shanghai First Maternity and Infant Hospital, said that when people were allowed to have only one child, most mothers-to-be opted for a C-section as they considered it the safest method of delivery.

　　“About 10 years ago, 70 percent of the babies born at my hospital were delivered by caesarean section,” he said.

　　“As well as being afraid of the pain associated with natural childbirth, a lot of mothers liked the convenience of having a C-section as it allowed them to set the date and time of their baby’s arrival,” he said.

　　Nowadays, however, the proportion of babies born that way is nearer the 40-percent mark, he said.

　　According to official figures, about half of all births in Shanghai are by C-section.

　　For couples planning to have more than one child it makes sense to have their first via natural methods, Duan said.

　　“Doctors are promoting the benefits of natural childbirth, while hospitals are introducing better pain-management systems to make the experience less traumatic,” he said.

　　At the Shanghai Gynecology and Obstetrics Hospital of Fudan University, the number of women opting for delivery by C-section has fallen by over 10 percent over the past two years, an official said.

　　One of the reasons for the decline is that the hospital now allows expectant mothers to be accompanied by a family member in the delivery room, according to the official.