Cesarean may reduce fertility

Women who give birth by Caesarean are less likely to have another child, researchers have discovered.

Some are so traumatized that they avoid a repeat of the experience. Others take at least six months longer to conceive.

Doctors fear Caesarean deliveries may harm fertility by disrupting the reproductive system. Experts are already concerned by the record numbers of surgical deliveries among the 'too-posh-to-push' generation.

One in five births is now a surgical procedure. In some units, the rate is 30 per cent. Seven per cent of all NHS surgical births - about 10,000 babies a year - are requested by the mother for no medical reason.

Some women choose a Caesarean for lifestyle reasons. Victoria Beckham and fellow Spice Girl Mel Brown, DJ Zoe Ball and actress Patsy Kensit have all had Caesareans, reports Daily Mail.

According to BBC, caesarean mothers were also more likely to suffer other complications in future pregnancies, the 17-year study showed.

The researchers said whether the Caesarean was planned or performed as an emergency made no difference to the rate of future pregnancies.

Women who had their baby by Caesarean were also more likely to have an ectopic pregnancy - where the fertilized egg becomes implanted outside of the womb, such as in the Fallopian tube.

The researchers said further exploration was needed to help explain their findings.

The UK National Childbirth Trust's Belinda Phipps said to Daily Telegraph: "The findings highlight how important it is for the first-time labour to be well supported, making a natural birth more likely and helping to reduce the very high rate of caesareans.

"Women need to know that there are problems caused by a caesarean which are longer-term."