Limit C-section births, doctors in UAE told

Don't do a C-section unless it's medically required, experts have said, as a rise in caesarean births has been noted in almost every country in the world.
"It's important to limit caesarean sections and not to use it unless medically required," Dr Sadoon Sami Sadoon, an obstetrics and gynaecology consultant and medical director of Danat Al Emarat Hospital for Women and Children in Abu Dhabi, said at the recent International Obstetrics, Gynaecology and Fertility Conference in the Capital.
In 2015, the most recent year for which complete data is available, doctors performed 29.7 million C-sections worldwide - accounting for 21 per cent of all births. This figure represented a hike from 16 million in 2000, or 12 per cent of all births, research showed.
This, however, should not be the case, as according to Dr Sadoon, "physicians should utilise all possible opportunities for a normal delivery, taking into consideration the safety of the foetus and the mother".
He added that one of the conference recommendations is to avoid pregnancy for 18 to 24 months after a caesarean section to avoid complications, such as caesarean scar ectopic pregnancy or miscarriages.
Dr Patrick O'Brien, consultant and honorary senior lecturer in obstetrics and gynaecology at the University College London Hospitals (UCLH) in London, revealed in his discussion that the caesarean section rate is rising steadily in almost every country in the world, reaching as high as one in three of all births in many developed countries.
"There are many reasons for this, including rising levels of obesity, women having babies older, more women choosing to have a caesarean delivery, among others," said O'Brien.
He added that labour is a time of risk for any baby. "We currently monitor the baby's heart rate during labour (the CTG monitor), watching for any signs that the baby is becoming short of oxygen. If the CTG recording becomes abnormal, we often intervene, for example, by doing a caesarean section to deliver the baby to safety. However, we know that, in this situation, the baby more often comes out in very good condition - and that it wasn't short of oxygen at all.
"Thus, it is important for us to understand the limitations of our current technology, take all necessary precautions to avoid unnecessary caesareans, and explore the use of new technologies, such as foetal ECG, pulse oximetry and foetal NIRS."
Dr O'Brien added: "Through the cooperation of the medical team, being careful in the decision to perform a caesarean section, and using new technologies when appropriate, we believe we can control the increase in unnecessary caesareans while ensuring the safety and health of the baby and mother."
Medical experts have also recommended proper training for physicians, allowing them to read and interpret the foetus ultrasound imaging (sonography) more accurately.
ismail@khaleejtimes.com