Rising c-section rates among first-time mothers strongly linked to age

The HSE’s newly published Perinatal Statistics Report has found the number of first-time mothers in Ireland over the age of 35 has nearly doubled in recent years. Picture: PA

Rising caesarean section rates among first-time Irish mothers has been found to be strongly linked to increasing maternal age, according to a new study.

The findings in the new study carried out in the Coombe Women and Infants University Hospital are important in the light of evidence that Irish women are choosing to defer having their first baby until later in life.