Caesarean-section and induction of labour rates in Ireland are considered ‘very high’ in first-time mothers, according to a recent guide.
According to ‘bump2babe: The Consumer Guide to the Maternity Services in Ireland’, sponsored by Cuidiú the Irish Childbirth Trust, some maternity units reported caesarean-section and induction of labour rates were 75% higher than other units.
Ceasarean-section and induction to labour rates have increased since the last guide was published in 2011.
The guide also reported that the rates at which women attempted a vaginal birth after having a caesarean-section previously varied between 29% and 57% across maternity units.
All 19 maternity units and two midwifery-units responded to the information request for the study.
The author of the guide, antenatal teacher Niamh Healy, said: “These figures are an indicator of the degree to which women are being provided with information and encouragement by the maternity unit.
“Cuidiú believes that women should be proactively informed, by the maternity unit, of the option to defer induction, when both mother and baby are healthy.”
The guide also reported that very few women across 17 out of 19 maternity care units had access to private toilet facilities, resulting in women having to use communal facilities.
“Cuidiú believes that women in the care of a maternity unit deserve access to private facilities, and the lack of these facilities is not consistent with the protection of their rights and dignity,” Niamh Healy also says in the guide.
The bump2babe: The Consumer Guide to the Maternity Services in Ireland can be found here.
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