Celebrity C-section women ‘causing second baby struggles’

THE “too posh to push” celebrity trend could be fuelling the rise in mothers struggling to have a second child following complications from caesarean sections, a leading Harley Street doctor has warned.

More couples are experiencing secondary infertility after the birth of a first child, and now account for a third of those seeking help to conceive.

Dr Geetha Venkat, of the Harley Street Fertility Clinic, an IVF specialist for 20 years, says in her clinic one in seven patients already has children but is struggling to conceive more.

She is concerned that the rise is caused by an increase in caesareans, prompted because many celebrities are opting for them.

More than a quarter of women now have C-sections, almost triple the number 30 years ago, and 10,000 of these elective births in 2014 were for women with no medical issues.

Last year, Dr David Richmond, of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, called for an NHS-wide drive to reduce the number of firsttime mothers having C-sections, saying some hospitals are carrying out too many.

Dr Venkat said: “We have found women [who experience secondary infertility] who have had caesareans have suffered infections in the womb lining and it prevents the transmission of the embryo.”

There has been a 30 per cent increase in caesareans a decade, with more celebrities opting for them to look after their bodies. Not all patients have problems, but some have mild infections.

“People think that because they have had one baby it should be easy to conceive another, but they run into other difficulties and they find it more difficult to understand why nothing is happening,” Dr Venkat said.

Kim Kardashian used IVF to get pregnant with her second child, and Emma Thompson, the film star, suffered depression due to secondary infertility.