ABU DHABI // Women having babies later in life, a culture of having large families and misconceptions about the surgery are contributing to Caesarean sections in the UAE being performed at almost double the global recommended rate.
According to the World Health Organisation’s 2015 World Statistics Report, a quarter of all births in the Emirates are c-sections, well above the medically necessary target of between 10 per cent and 15 per cent that the WHO says is ideal.
Paul Bosio, chief medical officer at Corniche Hospital, said every time a c-section is performed the uterine wall is weakened – increasing the risk of uterine rupture, which can be life-threatening for mother and baby.
The more children a women has, the higher the likelihood that she will need a Caesarean section. Once she has one c-section she is much more likely to have a Caesarean in future births, he said.
“It is not unusual for us to see three, four, five, six c-sections,” Dr Bosio said. “It is a huge problem in Abu Dhabi.”
The most important message, he said, was to try to avoid the first c-section unless absolutely necessary.
“To do that you need good monitoring and the highest effect on a low Caesarean section rate is continuous support during the labour, primarily and preferably by a midwife,” he said.
Dr Bosio said it was important to put the WHO figures in context. No developed country has the rate the WHO recommends – which Dr Bosio says is “very aspirational”.
The United States, for example, has about a 33 per cent rate of c-sections.
“This is not a UAE phenomenon,” Dr Bosio said.
While in some parts of the developed world some may elect a c-section because they feel it will minimise pain or certain complications, Dr Bosio said this was not the case in the UAE.
“They by and large prefer to have natural births,” he said.
Dr Razia Sharafudeen, a specialist obstetrician and gynaecologist at Brightpoint Royal Women’s Hospital, agreed.
“While some women opt for surgery over natural delivery because they fear the pain of childbirth, Emirati women are not known to request the procedure for these reasons,” she said. “Instead, it is the age at which women have their first babies, and well as increasing maternal BMIs, which are the main contributing factors for rising c-section rates in the UAE.”
Financial incentives also contributed to the rise, she said.
“With hospital bills for Caesarean births being much higher than those related to vaginal births, this offers some hospitals a compelling reason to recommend Caesareans as it increases the scope for profit,” she said.
Dr Gowri Ramanathan, head of obstetrics and gynaecology at Danat Al Emarat Hospital, said the number of Caesarean sections were increasing, particularly in the past few years.
“About 20 years ago, the rate was around 5 per cent; 10 years ago it was around 10 per cent and now it averages 30 per cent or so in Abu Dhabi,” she said.
Dr Agatha Moniz, a gynaecologist at Dubai’s Medcare Hospital, said while many mothers have to have birth by Caesarean – such as those women who have gestational diabetes and consequently the baby is too big to pass safely through the birth canal – there are those who choose a c-section over a vaginal delivery for no medical reason. “Those who want an elective c-section may be afraid of the information they have regarding normal delivery,” Dr Moniz said.
Caesarean section may be necessary when vaginal delivery might pose a risk to the mother or baby – for example due to prolonged labour or foetal distress, however, like any other major surgery, c-sections can have complications, like internal bleeding, blood clots or infection.
jbell@thenational.ae
Abu Dhabi GP schedule
Friday: First practice - 1pm; Second practice - 5pm
Saturday: Final practice - 2pm; Qualifying - 5pm
Sunday: Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (55 laps) - 5.10pm
The specs
Price, base / as tested Dh100,000 (estimate)
Engine 2.4L four-cylinder
Gearbox Nine-speed automatic
Power 184bhp at 6,400rpm
Torque 237Nm at 3,900rpm
Fuel economy, combined 9.4L/100km
Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
Company%20profile
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Indika
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if you go
The flights Fly Dubai, Air Arabia, Emirates, Etihad, and Royal Jordanian all offer direct, three-and-a-half-hour flights from the UAE to the Jordanian capital Amman. Alternatively, from June Fly Dubai will offer a new direct service from Dubai to Aqaba in the south of the country. See the airlines’ respective sites for varying prices or search on reliable price-comparison site Skyscanner.
The trip
Jamie Lafferty was a guest of the Jordan Tourist Board. For more information on adventure tourism in Jordan see Visit Jordan. A number of new and established tour companies offer the chance to go caving, rock-climbing, canyoning, and mountaineering in Jordan. Prices vary depending on how many activities you want to do and how many days you plan to stay in the country. Among the leaders are Terhaal, who offer a two-day canyoning trip from Dh845 per person. If you really want to push your limits, contact the Stronger Team. For a more trek-focused trip, KE Adventure offers an eight-day trip from Dh5,300 per person.
The most expensive investment mistake you will ever make
When is the best time to start saving in a pension? The answer is simple – at the earliest possible moment. The first pound, euro, dollar or dirham you invest is the most valuable, as it has so much longer to grow in value. If you start in your twenties, it could be invested for 40 years or more, which means you have decades for compound interest to work its magic.
“You get growth upon growth upon growth, followed by more growth. The earlier you start the process, the more it will all roll up,” says Chris Davies, chartered financial planner at The Fry Group in Dubai.
This table shows how much you would have in your pension at age 65, depending on when you start and how much you pay in (it assumes your investments grow 7 per cent a year after charges and you have no other savings).
Age
|
$250 a month
|
$500 a month
|
$1,000 a month
|
25
|
$640,829
|
$1,281,657
|
$2,563,315
|
35
|
$303,219
|
$606,439
|
$1,212,877
|
45
|
$131,596
|
$263,191
|
$526,382
|
55
|
$44,351
|
$88,702
|
$177,403
|
Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
yallacompare profile
Date of launch: 2014
Founder: Jon Richards, founder and chief executive; Samer Chebab, co-founder and chief operating officer, and Jonathan Rawlings, co-founder and chief financial officer
Based: Media City, Dubai
Sector: Financial services
Size: 120 employees
Investors: 2014: $500,000 in a seed round led by Mulverhill Associates; 2015: $3m in Series A funding led by STC Ventures (managed by Iris Capital), Wamda and Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority; 2019: $8m in Series B funding with the same investors as Series A along with Precinct Partners, Saned and Argo Ventures (the VC arm of multinational insurer Argo Group)
Tenet
Director: Christopher Nolan
Stars: John David Washington, Robert Pattinson, Elizabeth Debicki, Dimple Kapadia, Michael Caine, Kenneth Branagh
Rating: 5/5
Company%20Profile
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Blackpink World Tour [Born Pink] In Cinemas
Starring: Rose, Jisoo, Jennie, Lisa
Directors: Min Geun, Oh Yoon-Dong
Rating: 3/5
Coming soon
Torno Subito by Massimo Bottura
When the W Dubai – The Palm hotel opens at the end of this year, one of the highlights will be Massimo Bottura’s new restaurant, Torno Subito, which promises “to take guests on a journey back to 1960s Italy”. It is the three Michelinstarred chef’s first venture in Dubai and should be every bit as ambitious as you would expect from the man whose restaurant in Italy, Osteria Francescana, was crowned number one in this year’s list of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants.
Akira Back Dubai
Another exciting opening at the W Dubai – The Palm hotel is South Korean chef Akira Back’s new restaurant, which will continue to showcase some of the finest Asian food in the world. Back, whose Seoul restaurant, Dosa, won a Michelin star last year, describes his menu as, “an innovative Japanese cuisine prepared with a Korean accent”.
Dinner by Heston Blumenthal
The highly experimental chef, whose dishes are as much about spectacle as taste, opens his first restaurant in Dubai next year. Housed at The Royal Atlantis Resort & Residences, Dinner by Heston Blumenthal will feature contemporary twists on recipes that date back to the 1300s, including goats’ milk cheesecake. Always remember with a Blumenthal dish: nothing is quite as it seems.
A little about CVRL
Founded in 1985 by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, the Central Veterinary Research Laboratory (CVRL) is a government diagnostic centre that provides testing and research facilities to the UAE and neighbouring countries.
One of its main goals is to provide permanent treatment solutions for veterinary related diseases.
The taxidermy centre was established 12 years ago and is headed by Dr Ulrich Wernery.
SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20APPLE%20M3%20MACBOOK%20AIR%20(13%22)
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The%20specs
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Inside%20Out%202
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EShaffra%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2023%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDIFC%20Innovation%20Hub%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Emetaverse-as-a-Service%20(MaaS)%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Ecurrently%20closing%20%241.5%20million%20seed%20round%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Epre-seed%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFlat6Labs%20Abu%20Dhabi%20and%20different%20PCs%20and%20angel%20investors%20from%20Saudi%20Arabia%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20staff%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Enine%3C%2Fp%3E%0A