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Caesarean increases risk when second child born

Baby in a hospital nursery

THE RISE IN the number of Caesarean sections being performed is putting more women and babies at risk when they have a second child.

Women who try to have their second child naturally, after receiving a Caesarean during their first labour are 50 times more likely to suffer a ruptured womb during childbirth, new research suggests.

When this occurs, the lives of both mother and baby are in danger, and about one in 20 babies will die.

The study in Sweden of over 300,000 between 1983 and 2001 found the risk increases in women over 35 and for those who are induced.

Approximately 120,000 Caesareans are performed in England and Wales every year but there is no information yet on how many women go on to have natural births, but it is believed to have become more common.

The study found almost a quarter of women seeking a natural birth after a Caesarean needed a second Caesarean. It also revealed that mothers over 34 were nearly three times as likely to experience a ruptured womb than those under 25.

Belinda Phipps, chief executive of the National Childbirth Trust, said: 'The absolute risk of rupture is very small. We have to try very hard to get the first labour right. Then the problem doesn't arise.'

Wednesday 3 October 2007


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