CAESAREAN SECTION GUIDELINES

Motion Text

That this House welcomes the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) recommendation that women should be discouraged from choosing to have a Caesarean section; notes that such operations represent major abdominal surgery; believes that further efforts must be undertaken to inform the public fully of their potential complications and that decisions regarding caesarean sections should be based on clinical grounds; recognizes that the Caesarean rate in Northern Ireland of 26.2 per cent. is much higher than other parts of the United Kingdom; and calls for this NICE recommendation to be implemented in the province.