The rate of “practically perfect” births among Irish women is estimated to be less than 1 per cent, according to a study published in the Irish Medical Journal. Practically perfect? It found the number of “practically perfect” births among those giving birth for the first time was 0.8 per cent, a figure the authors described as “astonishing”. The authors defined a “practically perfect” birth as a delivery after 37 weeks that involved a spontaneous labour without intervention, an intact perineum and a positive neonatal outcome. Of these women, 4,171 went into spontaneous labour, while 2,753 were induced and 692 had a Caesarean section as a primary procedure.

Source: The Irish Times May 10, 2018 20:37 UTC