24% of births delivered via Caesarian section

ONE-IN-FOUR births in Ireland are delivered via Caesarean section, new figures show.

A report by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) on perinatal statistics, published today, shows that delivery by Caesarean section accounted for 24% of all births in 2003.

One-fifth of all babies were born via Caesarean section in 1999, with the number of such births increasing to 22% in 2002.

Almost 60% of multiple births were delivered by Caesarean section in 2003 — that’s up almost 9% on the previous year.

The ESRI report, based on information reported to the National Perinatal Reporting System (NPRS) on pregnancy outcomes, also found that single mothers accounted for 30% of women giving birth in 2003.

The breastfeeding rate increased slightly to 41.3% in 2003, compared to 41.1% in 2002. In 1999 just over a third of mothers were breastfeeding. The current breastfeeding rate is around 43%.

The number of home births attended by independent domiciliary midwives fell by almost 20% in 2003, compared to the previous year. There were 236 such births in 2003, compared to 288 in 2002.

The statistics also show that Ireland continues to have the highest fertility rate in the EU, followed by France.

It is believed that the increase in the number of first-time mothers is responsible for pushing up the rate of C-section deliveries.

Women who took part in the recent Irish Examiner/Lansdowne Market Research Survey said they had a Caesarean section because the procedure was used to deliver a previous baby.

Medical experts, however, differ on whether a previous Caesarean birth should have any bearing on the type of subsequent birth.

The second most common reason was that the baby was in a breech position, which can cause medical complications. The third most cited reason was that the baby was large.

Chairman of the department of obstetrics and gynaecology at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Professor Fergal Malone, said: “If the gut feeling is that a natural birth is not likely to succeed, there is no doubt a planned Caesarean is going to be easier on the woman.”

Master of the Rotunda Hospital in Dublin, Dr Michael Geary said: “Once she (the mother) is fully informed, then we certainly consider elective Caesarean section but it is not a question of ‘I want it, I’ll get it.’”