Kiwi caesarean rate continues to rise

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The number of New Zealand mothers having caesareans continues to increase, the latest report on maternity by the New Zealand Health Information Service (NZHIS) shows.

The per centage of mothers having caesareans increased to 23.7 per cent in 2004, from 23.1 per cent in 2003.

The report said this was above the 10-15 per cent level suggested by the World Health Organisation as unlikely to be associated with additional health benefits.

The figures show 12,994 caesarean section births for 2004, with 7949 being acute deliveries and 5045 elective.

The New Zealand Midwifery Council last year said wealthy white women were putting their and their babies' lives at risk by insisting on unnecessary caesarean sections.

Midwifery Council deputy chairwoman Sharron Cole said women were handing control over to health practitioners in the belief that medicine and technology would give them better outcomes than trusting in their own ability to give birth.

"There is a bitter irony in this in that there is good evidence to show that intervention, particularly caesarean section where it is clinically unnecessary, is more dangerous for both mother and baby," Ms Cole said.

Because of the increasing number of caesarean sections being carried out in the absence of any clinical risk factors, it was inevitable that women and babies would die as a result of the unnecessary procedure, she said.

The NZHIS annual report on maternity shows maternal and newborn information for 2004. There were 58,723 live babies born that year, and the average age of mothers was 30.3 years.

The number of New Zealand women planning a home birth was recorded for the first time, showing that while about 2000 women planned to give birth at home in 2004, only about 55 per cent went on to do so.

- NZPA