Two of the country's most senior obstetricians have criticised the Government's health rationing body for misleading women over the risks involved in a caesarean delivery.
Nick Fisk, professor of obstetrics and gynaecology at Queen Charlotte's and Chelsea Hospital in London, believes that there are no grounds for denying women choice over how they deliver their children.
The National Institute for Clinical Excellence (Nice), the Government's health rationing body, recommended last week that women should not be offered a caesarean unless there was a good medical reason for one.
One in five births in the UK is now by caesarean, but only 7 per cent of those happen for non-medical reasons.
Fisk, who is chairman of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists' scientific advisory committee, writes in today's Observer that the safest method of birth is by caesarean. He accuses Nice of misquoting the risks for caesareans and of having 'selectively interpreted' the facts to suit its case.
Fisk also points out that Nice's expert committee was chaired by a GP, had only two obstetricians and received 1,400 critical responses to its initial suggestion that caesareans should be restricted.
In a piece co-written with senior obstetrician Sara Paterson Brown, he states that '92 per cent of women say they want to be delivered by the method that is safest for their baby, and most obstetricians believe this is by caesarean. The risks to the baby of vaginal delivery are arguably greater than of activities society outlaws as dangerous - such as drink-driving, or riding a motorbike without a helmet'. He adds: 'The "too posh to push" jibe belittles a genuine, well-considered choice for many women.'
The Nice guidelines say women should be told that, although they would avoid labour pains and complications such as bladder problems or prolapse of the womb, women who have caesareans are more likely to have a blood clot or need further surgery. They also warn that, with caesareans, they increase the chance of babies having breathing problems.
The National Childbirth Trust wants to see pregnant women being offered birthing coaches on the NHS to help them cope with the ordeal of labour - a move which research shows can reduce the likelihood of a woman having a caesarean by 50 per cent.
