According to findings contained within a new report there has been an increase in the number of births carried out by caesarean section in Ireland.

With almost one-third of women giving birth by C-section in Ireland, the Irish Maternity Indicator System National Report sought to shed light on the issue.

Offering an insight into the reason behind the increase, the report suggests: "There are many possible reasons for these increases, including reductions in the risk of caesarean delivery, increasing litigation, increases in first births among older women, and the rise in multiple births resulting from assisted reproduction."

The report, which is the first of its kind in the world, provides figures into various elements associated with the labour process and established that of the 67,263 births recorded in 2014, these were to 65,987 women.

According to the report, 40% of women who gave birth had an epidural, 15% required the use of some form of instrumentation and 29% had to be induced while 787 women experienced an ectopic pregnancy, 688 women required intensive care or high-dependency after giving birth and seven tragically died.

Further to this, it was established that 1,255 births with multiple babies were recorded, there were eight cases of eclampsia and there were 407 perinatal deaths.

According to the report's findings, The National Maternity Hospital, the Rotunda and the Coombe had the most births in 2014.

 

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