Mainland women help raise rate to four times the level recommended by WHO
Private doctors in Hong Kong are performing up to four times the number of Caesarean sections than recommended by the World Health Organisation, as pregnant mainland women on week-long visas flock to private wards to give birth.
The WHO recommends an overall average of 15 per cent of all births should be by Caesarean section.
The rate at public hospitals is 22.2 per cent of the 40,947 births, while some private hospitals record a rate as high as 65 per cent.
Public hospitals usually will not provide Caesarean sections on the mother's request, but private hospitals, at a cost of about $35,000, carry them out as elective surgery.
'Up to 90 per cent of my patients are from mainland China and they have only a seven-day window.