The rate of emergency caesarean section in Irish mothers is twice that of Eastern European women who give birth in Ireland.
A new study from University College Dublin and the ESRI also found that Irish women are more likely to be obese, smoke, and have an induction of pregnancy.
The research took place from 2008 to 2011 at the Coombe Hospital in Dublin, and included 1,433 first time mothers from Ireland and the EU.
The authors found that 19.8 per cent of Irish-born women ultimately required an emergency medical caesarean, compared with just 12.5 per cent of women from the EU 12 group.
The results also found that 42.5 per cent of the Irish group had an induction of labour, compared with 31 per cent of the EU 12 group.
