One in four births in England is now emergency caesarean, BBC analysis shows
Summary
One in four births in England is now an emergency caesarean, which means the number of unplanned C-section surgeries has grown a lot in five years. At the same time, fewer babies are born naturally without using tools, while planned C-sections have also increased. Experts do not know exactly why emergency C-sections are up, and they want better data to understand the reasons.Key Facts
- Emergency caesarean births in England rose from 18% to 26% over five years.
- Planned (elective) C-sections now make up 20% of births.
- Vaginal births without instruments dropped from 53% to 43%.
- England’s emergency C-section rate is higher than in Scotland (22%), Wales (20%), and Northern Ireland (16%).
- England moved from 14th to 9th place among 42 countries in C-section rates from 2020 to 2025.
- Stillbirths and newborn deaths have stayed about the same despite more emergency C-sections.
- Emergency C-sections affect about one in three births among Black and Asian mothers, higher than the national average.
- Experts think factors like age, obesity, medical conditions, and fear in maternity units may be causing the rise.
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