Ireland's cesarean rate has risen to 24.3%

An article in the Irish Times by medical correspondent Dr Muiris Houston reports that Ireland's cesarean rate in 2006 rose to 24.3%.

Here are some of the other facts he cites from the latest Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) perinatal statistics report:

*50.8% of multiple births were delivered by cesarean
*The average age of all mothers was 31 years
*The perinatal mortality rate was 7 per 1,000 live and stillbirths compared with 8.4 in 2002
*The number of stillbirths dropped from a rate of 5.6 per 1,000 to 4.7 over the same period
*An infant's length of stay in hospital decreased from an average of 3.9 days in 2002 to 3.7 days in 2006
*A mother's average total length of stay in hospital fell from 4.1 days in 2002 to 3.7 days in 2006