Incidence of elective Caesarean births

 8 July 2013

Question No. 1210

Name of Person: Ms Faizah Jamal

Question

To ask the Minister for Health (a) how many caesarean operations have been conducted for newborn babies in 2012; (b) what is the percentage of caesarean births compared to natural birth deliveries in 2012; (c) what is the number and percentage of emergency caesarean births compared to that of elective caesarean births; and (d) what is the comparison of these numbers and percentages over the last three years.

Answer

        In 2012, a total of 15,733 caesarean operations were performed in Singapore.  This was a slight increase from 2011 and 2010, with 14,583 and 13,674 caesarean operations performed each year respectively.

        In 2012, about one in three (or 37%) of all births in Singapore were delivered through caesarean operations and the rest were delivered through vaginal deliveries. This ratio has remained relatively stable since 2010.
 
        In 2012, elective caesarean operations formed slightly more than half (or 55%) of all caesarean operations in Singapore, which was similar to the proportions observed in 2011 and 2010, where the percentages were 55% and 54% respectively.