Too many induced births'

Midwives are worried about the induction rates of around 35 per cent and they believe pregnant women are not empowered enough to take decisions about their babies' birth.

"Birth should be as natural as possible," Midwives' Association treasurer Margaret Abela said, adding that the average induction rate in the UK was much less at 21 per cent.

She said women should only be induced if there was an underlying problem. "Mothers should ask why they are being induced and the fact that the baby is big enough to be born is not reason enough. Nature should be left to take its course if there are no problems."

Ms Abela said women who were induced had a higher chance of needing a Caesarean section to give birth.

"We need to keep our hands off nature," she said, adding that midwives were capable and licensed to take care of women both before they gave birth, during labour and after the baby was born.

This year's International Day Of The Midwife, which was marked yesterday, revolves around the fact that the world needs midwives more than ever to achieve the UN Millennium Development Goals to improve maternal health, reduce child mortality and combat HIV, AIDS, malaria and other diseases by 2015.

"We want to normalise childbirth, to ensure that as much as possible women give birth naturally rather than through interventions," she said.

Ms Abela questioned whether ultrasounds were really needed in pregnancies that were going smoothly.

"Are we passing on the message that seeing is believing? In Scandinavian countries women are given a choice whether to go for an ultrasound or not, unless there are problems which require one."

She argued that unnecessary ultrasounds could cause more harm than good, causing anxiety if problems were identified.

"Some say that knowing of problems beforehand can help the parents be prepared but they can also lead to months of anxiety," she said.

She said anxiety was also prevalent among couples who were unsuccessfully trying to conceive: "Some couples plan their lives and expect getting pregnant to fall within this plan. Sometimes they start to panic even if they do not get pregnant within two months, leading to more anxiety and in turn more difficulties in conceiving."