Caesarean births ‘affect future fertility of women’
The researchers found women who had their first child by Caesarean were more likely to report having problems conceiving again compared to women who had a vaginal delivery using instruments such as forceps.
They were also far less likely to go on to have a normal delivery if they had the operation during their first pregnancy.
The researchers, from the University of Dundee, said the increased use of Caesareans rather than instrumental vaginal delivery when problems arose during labour would have far-reaching consequences for women.
The number of Caesareans carried out has increased rapidly in recent years, with around a quarter of the 600,000 babies born in Britain each year delivered by this method.
This is well above the 10% rate recommended by the World Health Organisation.
The National Institute of Clinical Excellence is considering tightening up the rules to prevent women from having the operation for non-medical reasons.
The research, published on bmj.com, looked at 283 women three years after they had either an instrumental vaginal delivery or a Caesarean.
Of these women, almost half (140) had been pregnant again after three years.
Out of the 192 women who planned to get pregnant again, only 5% of women who had a vaginal delivery reported difficulty conceiving compared with 19% of those who had a Caesarean.
The researchers said their study supported past research which had shown that Caesarean births can have long-term consequences for fertility, leading to women having fewer children and more difficulty conceiving.
Of the 91 women who said they did not plan another pregnancy, about half (42) said they “could not go through childbirth again”.
The researchers, led by Professor Deirdre Murphy, said to cut down on Caesarean births, wherever possible, women should have their first child by a vaginal delivery using instruments if necessary.
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