The National Institute of Statistics (INE) has released the definitive data on births in 2020 and the results are quite worrying in terms of the decrease in birth rates in our country and the type of delivery.
In Spain, a total of 341,315 babies were born in 2020 , 5.35 percent less than the previous year, which indicates that fewer and fewer babies are born year after year.
But today we are going to focus on the type of delivery, and the data show that 25 percent of deliveries in our country are by cesarean section. We must bear in mind that the data are from 2020, and that at the beginning of that year, during the first wave of the pandemic, the number of caesarean sections and premature births soared, although as a whole it does not seem to have affected the total figure too much.
25 percent of caesarean sections in Spain
Of a total of 336,741 deliveries registered in Spain in 2020, 75.12 percent of babies (252,964) were born by natural birth, while 24.88 percent of babies (83,777) were born by cesarean section .
A figure well above that indicated by the World Health Organization (WHO), which recommends that the rate of caesarean sections should not exceed 10-15%, and which places us among the countries with the highest rate of caesarean sections in the European Union.
The worrying thing is that they have increased notably in recent years, and there is no indication that they will stop doing so. If we look back, in 2011 the percentage of caesarean sections was 21.8 percent; that is, it increased 3.08 percent in the last ten years. However, it is less than the growth they had had in the previous decade, almost 10 percent in ten years.
Cesarean section rate by age of mother
If we analyze the data according to the age of the mother, we see that the proportion increases as the age of the mother increases. At age 20, the cesarean section rate stands at 15 percent, while at age 35, the age of most cesarean sections, the rate exceeds 25 percent of all deliveries .
Cesarean Section Rate in Premature Babies by Age of the Mother
When looking at the detailed data on cesarean sections and premature births (before 37 weeks of gestation) related to the age of the mother, we see that in the case of premature babies, the highest percentage of caesarean sections are performed in women between 33 and 37 years old. , representing seven percent of births.
Cesarean section rate by Autonomous Communities
Regarding the territory where the most caesarean sections are registered, Andalusia is the community where the most caesarean sections are performed in relation to the total number of births in our country, because it is where the most babies have been born, but this does not mean that it has the highest caesarean section rate.
Map of the number of caesarean sections by Autonomous Communities
If we see in detail the data by Autonomous Communities in relation to the total number of deliveries and how many have been by cesarean section, we obtain the percentage of cesarean sections in each of them .
|
CCAA |
Total births |
cesarean section |
% |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Andalusia |
64,602 |
16,604 |
25.70% |
|
Aragon |
8,965 |
1,833 |
20.44% |
|
Asturias |
4,726 |
886 |
18.74% |
|
Balearics |
9,359 |
2,135 |
22.81% |
|
Canary Islands |
13,015 |
2,667 |
20.49% |
|
CANTABRIA |
3,367 |
766 |
22.75% |
|
CASTILLA AND LEÓN |
13,465 |
3,302 |
24.52% |
|
CASTILLA LA MANCHA |
14,540 |
3,892 |
26.77% |
|
CATALONIA |
57,771 |
15,746 |
27.25% |
|
VALENCIAN COMMUNITY |
35,200 |
9,973 |
28.33% |
|
ESTREMADURA |
7,290 |
2,116 |
29.02% |
|
GALICIA |
15,047 |
3,767 |
25.03% |
|
THE RIOJA |
2,294 |
485 |
21.24% |
|
MADRID |
51,611 |
12,563 |
24.34% |
|
MURCIA |
13,529 |
3,395 |
25.09% |
|
NAVARRE |
4,963 |
766 |
15.43% |
|
BASQUE COUNTRY |
14,538 |
2,247 |
15.45% |
|
CEUTA |
833 |
186 |
22.32% |
|
MELILLA |
949 |
287 |
30.24% |
Melilla, Extremadura and the Valencian Community, with the highest rate of cesarean sections
The highest rates are in Melilla (30.24%), followed by Extremadura (29.02%) and Comunidad Valenciana (28.33%), where they have decreased in recent years if we take into account that in 2014 it was the community with the highest rate of caesarean sections in the country, 29.50%.
It is followed, above the national 25% index, by Catalonia (27.25%), Castilla La Mancha (26.77%) and Andalusia (25.70%), Murcia (25.09%) and Galicia (25, 03%).
Navarra and the Basque Country, with the lowest rate of caesarean sections
If we go to the other side of the table, the communities where fewer cesarean sections are performed in relation to the total number of deliveries, we find again Navarra (15.44%) and the Basque Country (15.45%) with practically equal rates. They are the only ones in which the WHO recommendations are respected.
It is followed by Asturias (18.74%) and the rest already exceed 20 percent.
Caesarean section is a life-saving practice for both mother and baby when warranted. But unjustified caesarean sections pose an unnecessary risk to the health of both , in the short and long term, as well as being able to affect future pregnancies.
In Babies and more | Covid infection triggered caesarean sections and premature births in the first wave
