Cesarean section on demand: are there differences related to obstetricians' gender?

To assess possible differences related to the physicians' gender, in the motivations for a cesarean section on demand, an anonymous questionnaire was sent to 60 male and 60 female obstetricians. Maternal emotional motivations, role of relatives, influence of instrumental examinations and personal attitude towards fulfilling maternal choice were analysed. Among emotional motivations, a previous negative perinatal experience and the fear of childbirth were more frequently reported by males (96.6% vs. 46.6%, p = 0.001; 98.2% vs. 61.6%, p = 0.001), as was ultrasonography (48.2% vs. 15%, p < 0.001) among the instrumental examinations. On the contrary, no differences were evidenced for the role played by relatives and for the physician's attitude in fulfilling maternal choice.