Figures show one in three Galway births by C-section
Caesarean section rates in Galway’s two maternity hospitals are slightly above the national average, according to a new report.
The rate of caesarean sections performed at University Hospital Galway (UHG) is 32 per 100 births.
The figure is 30 caesarean sections per 100 births at Portiuncula Hospital in Ballinasloe. The national average is 29 C-sections per 100 births.
Of the 3,044 live births at UHG in 2013, around 974 were caesarean sections. And of the 2,006 births at Portiuncula, some 600 were caesarean sections.
St Luke’s in Kilkenny had the highest rate of caesarean sections in the country (35 per 100) and Sligo had the lowest (21 per 100).
The research is contained in the first annual report of the National Healthcare Quality Reporting System, which was published by the Department of Health.
The reporting system was announced by the Health Minister in 2014 as part of a commitment to “the public reporting of quality indicators that reflect on the quality and safety of health care in Ireland.”
The report said the rates of caesarean sections do not take into account multiple births, history of caesarean section, or other factors which may impact on the likelihood of having a caesarean section.
“Rates of caesarean delivery as a percentage of all live births have increased in almost all OECD countries in recent decades with the average rate across countries going up from 20% in 2000 to 27% in 2011, although the growth rate in many countries has slowed down since 2005.
“There are many possible reasons suggested by the OECD for these increases including among others reductions in the risk of caesarean delivery, increasing litigation, increases in first births among older women, and the rise in multiple births resulting from assisted reproduction,” the report noted.
The Department of Health said the report is “about promoting a culture of openness and transparency, and improving accountability within the health sector.”
Reporting of the figures, it said, will help drive improvements in the delivery of health care. “This annual report aims to provide information on the quality and safety of health care services that can be easily understood and used by patients, members of the public, policy makers, and service providers, to assist them in making informed decisions about their own health care and about health care services in Ireland” said Dr Tony Holohan, Chief Medical Officer at the Department of Health.