No change in caesarean rate but wide variation between trusts, says report from The NHS Information Centre

Babies born in Chelsea and Westminster NHS Trust are about twice as likely to have been delivered by caesarean section as those born in Sherwood Hospital in Nottingham, says a report today from The NHS Information Centre.

NHS Maternity Statistics, England 2008-09: Headline Tables, highlights the wide variation in caesarean rates between trusts. Nationally, the report showed there was no change in the caesarean rate from 2007/08 with the rate remaining at 24.6 per cent.

But at 33.3 per cent of their 5,2303 deliveries, the London trust has the highest rate of caesarean deliveries of any trust in the country. Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has the lowest rate of caesareans at 15.8 per cent of their 2,9483 deliveries.

And at 15.8 per cent of their 5,2303 deliveries, the rate for elective caesareans at Chelsea and Westminster is nearly three times the rate at Peterborough and Stamford NHS Foundation Trust where only 5.6 per cent of their 3,9803 deliveries were by elective caesarean.

Newham University Hospitals NHS Trust had the highest rate of emergency caesareans at 21.9 per cent of the 5,1193 deliveries.

The trusts who have the highest or lowest caesarean rates may change from year to year, but some do appear consistently at either end of the scale. Trusts with the highest caesarean rates between 2006-07 and 2008-09 are provided in table. Access the table (pdf 39KB)

The report also showed that in 2008/09:

  • The number of deliveries taking place in NHS hospitals increased by 0.4 per cent from 649,840 in the previous year to 652,640.
  • The number of instrumental deliveries increased by 0.1 percentage points to account for 12.2 per cent (76,740) of all deliveries, compared to 12.1 per cent (75,250) in the previous year.
  • Where the method of onset of labour was known (537,008 deliveries), 20.2 per cent of deliveries were induced. This compared to 20.4 per cent in the previous year (where the method of onset of labour was known for 462,764 deliveries).

Chief executive of The NHS Information Centre Tim Straughan said: “The purpose of the report is to provide national and local comparative data about maternity services to help trusts examine their practices and how they are changing over time.

“The wide variation in rates of both elective and emergency caesareans will be of interest to many trusts. For some, their rate of caesarean deliveries will be linked to their area's specific demographic profile or the nature of their intake. But others will need to examine closely the full range of reasons why their rate is different from the national average of about one caesarean delivery for every four births.”

The full report also looks at related issues such as onset of labour, numbers of instrumental deliveries, place of birth and gestation of babies at birth.

It is at pubs/maternity0809

Notes to editors

  1. The NHS Information Centre (The NHS IC) is England's authoritative, independent source of health and social care information. It works with more than 300 health and social care providers nationwide to provide the facts and figures that help the NHS and social services run effectively. Its role is to collect data, analyse it and convert it into useful information which helps providers improve their services and supports academics, researcher, regulators and policymakers in their work. The NHS IC also produces a wide range of statistical publications each year across a number of areas including: primary care, health and lifestyles, screening, hospital care, population and geography, social care and workforce and pay statistics.
  2. As a result of changes in methodology, NHS Maternity Statistics 2006-07, 2007-08 and 2008-09 are not directly comparable with previous years, although a number of time series have been reworked based on the new methodology for comparison purposes.
  3. Percentages are calculated as a proportion of deliveries where the method of delivery/ onset was known.
  4. For media enquires please call 0845 257 6990 or contact: