The latest NHS Maternity Statistics for England in 2006-07 have just been published, and the number on everyone's lips is the slightly increased national cesarean rate of 24.3% (it was 24.1% the year before).
Unsurprisingly, newspaper copy is filled with the usual cries from some individuals and groups of: "This rate is too high. The World Health Organization recommends only 10-15% cesarean deliveries."
I plan to write more on the details of this report (which you can read in full here) over the coming days, but one of the most important things I'd like to stress initially is my concern for the women who are CHOOSING to have a cesarean delivery, and how the outcry over this new figure might impact on their health and wellbeing.
Why? Because a number of advocates of vaginal delivery have their sights set on reducing the national cesarean rate, and as I've always said, while I fully support initiatives to help women succeed in having a vaginal delivery outcome where this is their personal preference, I object strongly to women's informed request for a cesarean delivery being discouraged or refused as another way of reducing surgeries.
We need to focus on reducing 'unwanted' cesarean deliveries, and not those that are 'wanted' by women for whom planned surgery is a legitimate birth choice.
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