A rush to have induced Caesarian sections was reported in many areas of China this month, as some parents-to-be want their children to attend school as early as possible.

In many areas of China this month, an apparent rush to have induced Caesarian sections was reported as parents-to-be want their children to attend school as early as possible.

In China, the last birth date for children's eligibility to start school is August 31. Children born in the last four months of a year will attend school a year later those born before the cut-off. This makes some parents worry that their children may be constantly trying to catch up with their peers throughout their life.

In northeastern China's Jilin Province, from August 20 to 27, some 520 babies were born in six major hospitals in the provincial capital of Changchun, with 45 percent of these delivered via C-section, local newspaper New Culture View reported.

Twenty-six mothers-to-be wanted to have a C-section for the sake of their children's future but 18 of them gave up following doctor consultation, the newspaper said.

In Yinchuan, capital of the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region in northwestern China, many mothers–to-be consulted doctors concerning a C-section before the August 31 deadline. When doctors in large hospitals refused their requests because of a lack of a clearly defined need, some turned to informal clinics, said Bie Li, a doctor of the Yinchuan Municipal Maternity and Infant Hospital.

To curb the trend, on August 24, the health authority in central China's Anhui Province issued the nation's first provincial guideline for C-sections, listing 14 types of medical requirements, such as fetal distress (a lack of oxygen, for example) or an abnormality of the birth canal.

According to the provincial family planning bureau, the guideline is expected to reduce the rate of C-sections in the province, which was about 40 percent last year, to 30 percent in the next three to five years.

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