Birth figures - Huge rise in Caesareans alarming

Serious questions must be asked about the massive rise of 80.8% in the number of Caesarean sections performed between 1992 and 2001.

Of course there are occasions when such operations are the safest means of delivering a baby, but this has always been the case. It does not explain such a dramatic increase in this form of delivery, which now accounts for more than a fifth of all births in this country.

Various explanations have been put forward, but most seem to have little to do with the health of the mother or the baby. Instead, the explanations are more about lawyers, litigation, finance and administration.