Caesarean sections up 40 per centA new report on the birth of Australian children shows the rate of caesarean sections has increased nearly 40 per cent over the past decade. The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare study shows that 23 per cent of Indigenous women now deliver by caesarean section compared to 28 per cent of non-Indigenous women. Professor Michael Chapman from the University of New South Wales says the figures also show that an Indigenous baby is twice as likely to die before it is a month old. "The other factor that comes into play is that girls in their teens also have a very high loss of babies either in late pregnancy or in the early neo-natal time and that may be a co-factor in why the Indigenous population do seem to be doing badly," he said. He says increasing caesarean rates will put more pressure on hospitals, especially those in remote areas with relatively few resources. Professor Chapman says the women who deliver by caesarean section are generally unable to have a natural birth again. "Once you've had a caesarean section the implications for the next pregnancy is that if you have a vaginal delivery there is an increased risk both for the mother and for the baby in terms of complications," he said. |
