Rise in emergency C-sections at Leeds Hospitals Trust

A quarter of births recorded at Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust in March were emergency C-sections, new figures show.

- by Harriet Sutton

While a caesarean section is generally a very safe operation, NHS England guidance states the level of risk partly depends on whether the procedure is planned or done in an emergency.

A pregnancy and baby charity warned emergency C-sections carry risks despite sometimes being "life-saving", adding their increasing rate in England likely reflects the "ongoing pressure on maternity services".

NHS England figures show around 180 (26 per cent) of the 685 deliveries recorded at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust in March were emergency C-sections.

It was a higher caesarean rate than 23 per cent a year earlier.

At the trust, 45 per cent of deliveries were spontaneous vaginal births in March, 12 per cent had instrumental assistance and 15 per cent were planned caesarean sections.