A dramatic increase in the number of births through
Caesarean section has been registered between 1995 and last year, with a
jump of 16 per cent.
Figures from the National Obstetrics Information System (NOIS) show that the
percentage of Caesareans shot up from 15.9 per cent in 1995 to 32.3 per cent
last year.
At 36.5 per cent of all deliveries, the 2006 Caesarean figure was even
higher and a concern for midwives, who firmly believe that nature should be
left to take its course unless problems crop up.
Mark Brincat, chairman of the Obstetrics and Gynaecology Department pointed
out that obstetricians were dealing with an increasing number of high-risk
pregnancies.
In fact, the NOIS figures show that 522 out of the 3,853 mothers who gave
birth last year - 13.5 per cent - had some form of complication during
pregnancy, up from 8.4 per cent in 2001.
In addition, 2.1 per cent of mothers who gave birth last year suffered from
a type of diabetes, up from 1.68 per cent in 2001.
Moreover, the monitoring of babies prior to birth is also picking up
problems.
"We deal with individuals and not percentages and we are not going to put a
life - or quality of life - at risk to keep percentages down," Prof. Brincat
stressed, adding that obstetricians felt that the numbers were levelling
out.
Obstetricians were practising in a uniform way which was in accordance with
the established norms in the main teaching hospitals, especially in the UK,
he said.
Yet, figures from the UK Department of Health show that the rate of
C-sections in Britain in 2005-2006 stood at 23.5 per cent - more than 10 per
cent lower than local figures for the same period.
The figures go down drastically when it comes to Scandinavian countries - in
2006, 15.9 per cent of births in Norway, 16.3 per cent of those in Finland
and 21 per cent of those in Denmark were by Caesarean section. But these
have also gone up substantially over the years.
According to the New York Times, the rate of Caesareans in the US climbed
from 20.7 per cent in 1996 to 30.3 per cent in 2005.
Veteran midwife Margaret Abela, the treasurer of the Midwives Association,
underlined the importance of women being empowered to have more of a say in
decisions about childbirth.
In an interview with this paper last year, Ms Abela said that many mothers
were afraid to take a decision and leave everything in the hands of medical
professionals. In northern Europe, especially in Scandinavian countries,
women tend to participate much more in decisions and the induction rate is
lower.
Contacted yesterday Ms Abela, who has worked in hospital - mostly as a
midwife - for more than 40 years, said the figures of local Caesareans are
considered high.
In fact, she continued, studies have shown that while a very low rate of
Caesareans indicates a lack of facilities, rates over the 20 per cent mark
are considered high.
The importance of normalising childbirth was highlighted during the
International Confederation of Midwives congress, which took place in
Glasgow earlier this month, she said.
Facts and figures
The 2007 report of the National Obstetric Information System shows that:
• 3,898 babies were born last year.
• The majority of mothers were between 25 and 34 years old. The youngest
mother was 13 and the oldest 45.
• Twenty-three per cent of mothers were single and have not married.
• Just over half the mothers delivered their first baby.
• Six of last year's deliveries were home births but were later referred to
hospital.
• More than half the babies born last year - 53 per cent - were boys.
• Some 55 per cent of babies were breast-fed only, while 13 per cent were
fed breast and bottle milk.
• There have not been any maternal deaths since 2001, when there were two.
• The rate of foetal deaths - death before complete expulsion or extraction
from the mother - has gone down from 6.2 out of every 1,000 in 1999 to 2.8
out of every 1,000 births last year.
