Giving women bicarbonate soda during labour cuts the risk of caesareans

Such a simple, everyday household product - but seemingly bicarbonate soda can be incredibly useful during labour.

Indeed, one study now states that women struggling in labour should be given it to boost their chances of a safe and natural birth. Researchers in Britain say the bicarbonate soda rectifies acidity around the womb and could therefore significantly reduce the number of women forced to undergo emergency caesarean sections. Speaking on the BBC's Today show, Professor Susan Wray from the University of Liverpool also explained that the fact the soda is so readily available and so low-cost should be applauded. The bicarbonate used in the study is the standard type available in supermarkets.

Stats released last year from the Economic And Social Research Institute, UCD, and Trinity College Dublin, showed that births by c-section have increased in Ireland from 7 percent in 1984, to 13 percent in 1993, to 30 percent in 2014.

The procedure is much safer than it was in the past but still carries higher risks that a natural delivery. Children born vaginally furthermore inhale diverse gut flora in the birth canal which gives them a strong, healthy digestive system.