Official NHS maternity statistics show that caesareans accounted for 45% of deliveries in English NHS hospitals in 2024-25. More recent monthly NHS maternity data reported that 27% of deliveries under NHS maternity services in January 2026 were emergency caesareans.
But a recent BBC analysis noted that this increase has not been accompanied by similarly clear reductions in stillbirth or neonatal mortality rates. If outcomes are not improving at the same pace as interventions, what is driving the growth in caesarean births?
