Older Mothers Are Making One Birth in Four Caesarean

By DANIEL MARTIN

ALMOST a quarter of babies are delivered by Caesarean section because mothers are becoming older and fatter.

Statistics show age and obesity have pushed the number of Caesareans in Health Service hospitals upwards dramatically in the last ten years.

In 1995, one in six babies was born this way. But by 2005, the figure was 23.1 per cent.

The increase is partly because older mothers are more likely to need surgery than younger women, a report from the Office of Health Economics said yesterday.

About 13.4 per cent of babies born to women under 20 were delivered by Caesarean. But for mothers who were older than 40, the figure rose to 33.4 per cent.

However, Emma Hawe, head of statistics at the independent research body, said ageing mothers were not the only reason.

‘In countries such as Finland and the Netherlands there has been a shift towards older mothers, but Caesarean rates remain relatively low there, so the age profile of mothers does not account for increasing numbers.’ She suggested that there may be a ‘causal relationship between the mother being overweight or obese and having a Caesarean section delivery’.

Statistics show obese women with a body mass index of more than 45 had surgery in 50 per cent of cases.

The rise is not down to women choosing surgery, she added. This accounted for as little as 7 per cent, as the number of planned deliveries remained constant.

‘It is the emergency Caesarean rates that are continuing to rise.’ Doctors’ fear of litigation when natural births go wrong, could also be contributing to the rise.

Mrs Hawe said: ‘Almost a fifth of the hospital-based obstetric respondents in a recent large scale survey admitted that they now perform more Caesareans because they fear possible litigation.’ The increase may also be down to the escalating number of women having multiple births after IVF, she added.

But Professor James Walker of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists said: ‘I don’t think that anyone is carrying out sections just because they are worried about being sued.

‘It certainly influences the decision but it is also the case that doctors are carrying out more sections because the procedure is safer.’ The World Health Organisation has said ‘there is no justification for any region to have a higher caesarean rate than 10 to 15 per cent’. Britain’s rate is higher than much of Europe, but lower than Germany, Italy and Spain and the U.S.

Experts say Caesareans can increase a baby’s chance of breathing difficulties and mothers will find it harder to bond with the child while recovering.

THE number of over-45s giving birth has doubled in a decade.

In 2005, 1,177 babies were born to women over 45 up from 586 in 1995, yesterday’s report revealed.

It also confirmed that, for the first time, women in their early 30s are having more babies than those in their late 20s.

Birth rates rose for all age groups above 30, but fell in younger age groups.

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