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 The National Childbirth Trust"It is major abdominal surgery"  real 28k |
Caesarian section 'too common'
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Medical experts fear too many babies are now being delivered by Caesarian section in the UK.
The Royal College of Midwives says that in some parts of the UK only 52% of deliveries were traditional births.
 It is a major surgical operation and it does carry attendant risks for the women and the baby  |
| Frances Day-Stirk, Royal College of Midwives |
By the 1980s 10% of births were by Caesarian section, and by the middle of this decade the figure had climbed to 15%.
There is a marked regional variation in the number of Caesareans, according to the latest figures from the Department of Health.
In Cornwall just 13% of women have Caesarian section, but in parts of Surrey the figure is 26%.
The World Health Organisation puts the acceptable rate of Caesarian sections at 10-15% for countries in the developed world.
Conference to discuss rise
 Frances Day-Stirk warns that Caesarians can be risky |
They will study whether it is mothers who are keen to have a Caesarian, or whether doctors are performing more of the operations for the sake of convenience.
Frances Day-Stirk, head of midwifery affairs at the Royal College of Midwives, said the rise in Caesarians was "quite alarming".
She said in 1996 only nine per cent of units had a Caesarian section rate of 20-30%. By 1998 a quarter of all units reported similar figures.
She said: "Caesarian section has in some way become normal.
"Women sometimes don't worry awfully if they do have a Caesarian section, but of course it is a major surgical operation and it does carry attendant risks for the women and the baby."
Ms Day-Stirk said better information should be made available to women
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