Almost a third of pregnancies unplanned

ALMOST a third of pregnancies are unplanned, one of the biggest and busiest maternity hospitals in the country has revealed.

And six out of 10 mothers are not taking folic acid, a vitamin that helps prevent birth defects, before becoming pregnant.

The statistics are contained in the Coombe Women and Infants University Hospital (CWIUH) 2007 annual clinical report.

Last year was the busiest year on record for the hospital with 8,497 births — up 5% since 2006.

The hospital also found that the number of teenage mothers has decreased significantly to just under 4% — the lowest percentage in seven years.

In 2002, 6% of mothers attending the hospital were under 20 years of age.

Master of the CWIUH, Dr Chris Fitzpatrick, said there had been a steady drop in the number of teenage mothers in recent years because of a greater focus on sexual education.

Dr Fitzpatrick said the finding that almost 60% of mothers were not taking folic acid before becoming pregnant was worrying.

He said the statistic, together with the revelation that a third of pregnancies were unplanned, reinforced the argument for the fortification of foodstuffs with folic acid.

The hospital also pointed out that the rate of caesarean section, at one in five, has remained unchanged since 2006.

Asked if babies are getting bigger, Dr Fitzpatrick said there had been an increase in birth weight.

Of more concern, however, is the increase in maternal weight — a study found that one in five pregnant women attending the hospital was obese.

Dr Fitzpatrick said mothers who were overweight in pregnancy were at greater risk of developing a temporary form of diabetes in pregnancy and of developing long-term diabetes.

Overweight pregnant women were also at an increased risk of developing high blood pressure; had bigger babies and their recovery from interventions, such as caesarean sections, might be compromised.

Prof John O’Leary, director of pathology at the Coombe and an international expert on cervical cancer, said just 300 women were estimated to have received the cervical cancer vaccine privately in Ireland.

The vaccine was designed to be administered to young girls who are not sexually active but Prof O’Leary said most women who received it did not fit that criteria.

He was disappointed at the decision not to introduce a vaccination programme targeted at young girls because of the cost involved.