Older mums and the obesity crisis ‘fuels a rise in caesareans on the NHS’ – up by a third in a decade
More than 27 per cent of babies were born by caesarean last year, according to NHS Digital - up by a third in a decade
OLDER mums and obesity are fuelling a record number of c-sections on the NHS, official figures show.
More than 27 per cent of babies were born by caesarean last year.
That is up from 24.1 per cent a decade ago and a mere 12 per cent in 1990/91.
Caesareans are more common among older or obese women because they are more likely to suffer complications during a natural delivery.
The number of mums aged under-20 has halved over the last ten years.
But deliveries from women over-40 rose nearly 13 per cent to 24,942 over the same period, according to figures from NHS Digital.
Obesity rates have also increased sharply among women in recent decades, rocketing from 16.4 per cent in 1993 to 26.8 per cent in 2014.
Experts credit improved sex education and health policies with reducing rates of teenage pregnancy.
And they say women are increasingly choosing to pursue a career before starting a family at an older age.
Studies have linked a caesarean birth to increased risk of asthma, diabetes, and obesity.
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The data shows that older mothers are much more likely than younger age groups to have a caesarean, and are more likely to pre-plan it.
There were 1,326 births among women aged 45 to 49 in 2015/16, with more than 57.8 per cent of the deliveries being by C-section.
Almost a third (31.3 per cent) of these births was by planned Caesarean, while a further 26.5 per cent were through Caesareans carried out in an emergency.
These figures are significantly higher than for younger age groups, with 12.6 per cent of those aged 30 to 35 having a planned caesarean and a further 15.8 per cent carried out in an emergency.
Planned Caesareans were also much more common among more affluent mothers.
There were 648,107 deliveries in NHS hospitals in 2015/16 – an increase of 1.8 per cent on the previous year.
The proportion of deliveries where women went into labour naturally – and were not induced or needed caesarean – has fallen to 57 per cent, from 69 per cent a decade ago.
Elizabeth Duff, from the National Childbirth Trust, said: “Urgent questions must be asked about the huge variation among trusts - in some hospitals the c-section rate is well below 20 per cent.
“In others more than 35 per cent of women are having this major surgery.
It is important that women are made aware of the increased potential for pregnancy complications as a result of age and in some cases assisted conception
Louise Silverton, The Royal College of Midwives
“While some births can only take place safely by caesarean, the potential negative impact of this procedure on mothers and babies, and the substantial costs to the health service, mean there must be more clarity about these variations and less of a postcode lottery.”
Louise Silverton, Director for Midwifery at The Royal College of Midwives, said: “It is important that women are made aware of the increased potential for pregnancy complications as a result of age and in some cases assisted conception.
“The RCM welcomes the reduction in the teenage birth rate.
“It is really positive to see that the number of deliveries to mothers under the age of twenty has halved in the last ten years.
“That is of course due to the extremely successful teenage pregnancy strategy.”
A spokeswoman from the British Pregnancy Advisory Service said: “More women expect to fulfil educational and professional ambitions before having a baby or expanding their families.”