42% of UK births are c-sections

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Is anyone else surprised at this statistic? I’m sure it was only something like 20% when my now-teen was born.

Although I had noticed how so many of my friends/family members/colleagues having babies recently all seem to have had cesareans.

It looks as though the shift will only continue so potentially c-section will exceed 50% of births and be the more common mode of birth in a few years.

I think it’s really interesting! Will there be drive to try and push numbers down and increase vaginal births again? Or will it eventually become standard for most women to just book in for an elective section as standard and ‘attempting natural’ will be seen as a more unusual choice like home birth is currently.

@Crushed23 A little ironic - if only you knew me and my values - I'm a huge advocate for fighting the patriarchy - guess my title and married name for a start!!
It's not misogynistic - there are those of us who believe that the welfare of mother and baby ultimately should be at the forefront of all decisions made. And therefore are questioning if the increasing rate in C-sections is truly supporting that.
Do I think - for example - that opting for a C-section purely to avoid the pain of a vaginal birth is reasonable - no. Childbirth is so much more than that.
Ultimately decisions should always be made with informed choice and fact and I'm not sure they always are.

@SouthLondonMum22 Mostly because they understand the true risk that come with all of these.

Well, tough, I and millions of other women will be doing exactly that - choosing a c-section primarily to avoid the pain of vaginal birth. I can’t think of a better reason and I’m thankful more and more women have that choice. I know you think we’re silly little girls who are ill-informed, but trust me, due to other issues, my OBGYN and I are well-acquainted, and I take her advice over internet strangers’.

@Crushed23 Well I mean I'd put the welfare of my baby above everything else personally, but up to you of course.

I imagine the health care system in America is better than the NHS (although not sure?) so all the best.

assuming 'the mother' doesn't have the capacity to make an informed choice about the right decision for the welfare of HERself and HER baby sounds pretty misogynistic to me!

do you really think women don't bother to look into any information about birth and just make the choice by going eeny, meeny, miney, mo?

@latetothefisting Well some have literally said they want a C-Section to "avoid pain" so no, not really that considered tbh.

Yes, partly to avoid the excruciating pain of vaginal birth, but that doesn’t mean we’re ill-informed about the pros and cons, my goodness 🤦‍♀️ The most physically painless way to have a baby is by surrogate, it doesn’t mean I am going to ignore all other considerations and have my baby that way, does it?

Or other women have simply made different decisions which is perfectly fine as it is their body and their baby.

Either women should get a choice or they shouldn't and that would also apply to the things you feel are the 'right' choices.

So, using AI Google results and general searching, apparently in 1999-2000, 20% of births in England and Wales were via c section, and maternal mortality was at 10 to 11 deaths per 100,000 live births, with severe maternal birth injuries (including third and fourth degree tears) standing at 1.8%. The average age for a first birth was 26-27.

In 2024-2025, 45% of births in England and Wales were via c section, and in 2021-2023, maternal mortality was at 12.82 per 100,000 live births. I can't find overall severe birth injury rates, but third and fourth degree tears alone stood at 3.29% in 2024-2025. The average age for a first birth was 31 in 2024.

So there were fewer c sections in 2000, but the mortality rate and injury rate were lower.

I don't know, but I would imagine that increased pressure on the overstretched NHS, and maternal factors such as being older when first having children, might be resulting in higher c section rates?

I also think that women are sometimes being 'scared' into not attempting vaginal births for things that in the recent past, would've actually been handled fine vaginally. I don't think increasing c section rates for breech births etc are necessarily a bad thing, but I do think that women shouldn't feel pressured into them.

pp didn't say avoid pain, she said avoid the pain of a vaginal birth which would be accurate considering she wouldn't be having a vaginal birth.

Nowhere has she said that a c-section would be pain free.

@SouthLondonMum22 She said: "Yes, partly to avoid the excruciating pain of vaginal birth."
I've had three, and none of them were "excruciatingly painful."

But that's just you. Do you think that because you have never found it excruciatingly painful that no one ever has? It can absolutely be the experience and it's fine to want to opt out of risking it.

“Why aren’t all women like me, wahhhhhhh” 😩

Goodness, I'm really shocked at that! My consultant at Kings in 2003 told me they were determindly trying to reduce their c-section rate of 25%.

I genuinely find the thought of a baby coming out my vagina repulsive. I've no idea why anyone would consider that over a section. It turns me even thinking about it when there are so many other options. How people can just go into birth crossing their fingers and not knowing what state their vagina will be in or what instruments may need shoved up there astounds me.
BUT I am adult enough to know that my worst nightmare is another women's dream birth. For me it was important knowing my baby would be safe.

@Crushed23 You really are incredibly immature.

She's not though. She's well informed and has made a decision for her body that's She's happy with and for some reason this seems to anger you.

@Bababear987 Why "repulsive?" That's a very strange thing to think about what is effectively a natural process.

Lots of things are natural processes, defecating is but it's also gross. Let's not pretend the human body is all heavenly.

It's the sweating, bleeding, huffing, puffing, dilating, stretching, tearing, shitting yourself, showing your fanny to a bunch of random people... boke. It's just all so open and undignified squatting on the floor pushing a whole other person out of you.

I can understand on one hand how its empowering but nope not for me. For me, i get a date and everything is ready, i turn up, get numbed and have my baby handed to me 10mins later with 0 effort on my part its ideal. I'm not exhausted or sore after labour, im walking within 6hours and home the next day.. lovely. I'm not worrying about recovery, prolapses, painful sex etc

Here’s how I’d rank the possible birth outcomes, from best to worst:

1. Vaginal birth with no complications
2. Elective caesarean section
3. Vaginal birth with an episiotomy, small tear, or possibly assisted delivery
4. Emergency caesarean section
5. Assisted vaginal birth with a 3rd or 4th degree tear

In my view, options two and three can swap places depending on how someone heals afterwards. I’ve personally experienced both number five and number two.

You can choose number two. You can’t choose number one.

Knowing what I know now, choosing an elective section feels like the obvious decision. Why take the risk hoping for number one?

The long‑term consequences of number five still affect me, and they’re not something I’d willingly gamble on again.

My nearly 9lber was a shoulder dystocia birth. A nice, calm c section would have been preferable. She probably thinks you can breath out big babies.

@Bababear987 I say this kindly, but I think you might need some sort of therapy? What does "boke" mean? The way you talk about a "showing your fanny to a bunch of random people" and vaginal birth as being "gross" and comparing it to defacating.
Have you had some sort of trauma surrounding this?

The way you talk about it I would suggest therapy for you.

This is very well put. I felt the same, that an elective section was the safest for me and baby because I couldn't 100% guarantee that my birth would be easy, straightforward with no issues at birth or down the line if I went vaginally, so it was a no brainer to get a section.

@Coffeeandbooks88 No - her attitude towards vaginal birth is abnormal and suggests trauma of some sort.
I am confident most women that are advocates of C-sections still don't feel this way about vaginal birth.
Nothing "gross" or "embarrassing" about it.