{"id":354748,"date":"2025-12-17T21:54:09","date_gmt":"2025-12-17T21:54:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/354748\/"},"modified":"2025-12-17T21:54:09","modified_gmt":"2025-12-17T21:54:09","slug":"caesaran-sections-overtake-natural-vaginal-births-for-the-first-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/354748\/","title":{"rendered":"Caesaran sections overtake natural vaginal births for the first time"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"GettyGetty Images<\/p>\n

Ruth CleggHealth and wellbeing reporter <\/p>\n

More babies are being born by caesarean section in England than delivered naturally – without assistance – for the first time.<\/p>\n

Latest NHS data for 2024-25 shows that 45% of births were by C-section, compared to 44% which were spontaneous, a term used to describe a natural vaginal birth. Another 11% needed extra support and interventions like forceps.<\/p>\n

Nearly half of the caesaereans – when the baby is delivered by surgeons cutting into the mother’s abdomen and womb – were planned in advance.<\/p>\n

NHS England says the increase is influenced by many factors, including women choosing to have this kind of birth and a rise in pre-existing conditions such as diabetes and obesity.<\/p>\n

Experts say the picture behind the figures is “very complex”.<\/p>\n

Dr Donna Ockenden, who is chairing an independent review into maternity services at Shrewsbury and Telford Hospitals, says it has been an “evolving picture over time”.<\/p>\n

“We know there is an increasing maternal age, we know there is rising ill health. I also think previous experience will play a part.<\/p>\n

“Birth trauma and having a caesarian section first time, may influence their decision to have a C-section the second time round.”<\/p>\n

For many women, having a C-section (also known as a caesarean) is a matter of choice.<\/p>\n

Over the past 10 years, the number of caesareans has doubled. <\/p>\n

Dr Alison Wright, president of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists said part of this was down to improvements “in our ability to detect when a baby’s wellbeing is deteriorating during labour, and therefore respond appropriately”.<\/p>\n

‘Least worst option’<\/p>\n

Soo Downe, a professor of midwifery studies at the University of Lancashire, says there are many factors contributing to the rise. <\/p>\n

“The average age of being a mother has only gone up by one year over the past decade, and women’s BMI [Body Mass Index] has only increased very slightly.<\/p>\n

“This doesn’t explain this very rapid rise that has happened over the last 10 years.”<\/p>\n

She suggests part of the picture is a growing number of women who feel a caesarean is the “the least worst option” because there is a fear they might not get the support they need for a “safe straightforward positive labour”.<\/p>\n

Maternity services in England have been heavily criticised, with reviews into maternity care ongoing at 14 NHS trusts.<\/p>\n

An NHS spokesperson said: “All women should receive safe, personalised maternity care in line with best practice guidance and clinical evidence.<\/p>\n

“The priority should always be the safety and wellbeing of both mothers and babies, and decisions about how a baby is born are made through informed discussions that consider individual circumstances, clinical advice and a woman’s preferences, ensuring the safest and most appropriate approach for each birth.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty Images Ruth CleggHealth and wellbeing reporter More babies are being born by caesarean section in England than…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":354749,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[43,44,41,39,42,40],"class_list":{"0":"post-354748","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-headlines","8":"tag-headlines","9":"tag-news","10":"tag-top-news","11":"tag-top-stories","12":"tag-topnews","13":"tag-topstories"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/354748","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=354748"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/354748\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/354749"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=354748"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=354748"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=354748"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}