More than half of women of childbearing age in Cyprus have given birth by Caesarean section, according to the Statistical Service ad-hoc report “Perinatal Health Survey 2007”.
If you know your Shakespeare, that means that Macbeth would not last long in this modern age.
The report found that 50.9% of childbearing women had undergone a Caesarean section (from the total number of mothers who delivered live or stillbirths)
There was a higher rate of Caesarean sections in the private sector (57.4%) than in the public sector (31.9%).
Moreover, 37.6% of mothers had undergone a Caesarean section that was scheduled before the onset of the labour.
Only 4.9% of single births were obtained after fertility treatment, compared with 52.9% for twins and 100% for triplets. Multiple births therefore are more likely to be associated with assisted reproductive techniques.
Multiple births also had higher rates of pre-term births (from the total of all single births only 7.5% were pre-term, compared with 61.2% in twins and 100% in triplets).
The vast majority (76.9%) of the extremely pre-term babies were transferred to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit in Makarios Hospital in Nicosia.
Older women have more pre-term births
The report found that as the mother’s age increases, the rates of preterm births increase.
Amongst mothers aged 15-19 the rate of pre-term birth was 5.4%, compared with 44.6% for women aged over 45.
The percentage of the mothers who delivered without any obstetric intervention is very low, at only 11.8% of the total number of mothers.
Of the live births, 16.6% were fed exclusively with breast (mother) milk during the first 48 hours after birth.
The full report (in Greek) provides statistical information related to the characteristics of childbearing women, the medical care provided to the mother and the newborn throughout pregnancy and during the labour, the newborn’s health, as well as several factors regarding the period of gestation and the labour.
It can be downloaded free of charge from the website of the Statistical Service.
