§ Mr. Austin Mitchellasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will publish in the Official Report the proportion of live births by caesarian section to normal live births for each regional health authority.
§ Mr. WhitneyThe latest available information from the hospital in-patient inquiry (maternity) is shown in the table.
The first column (a) shows the ratio of the number of live births by caesarian section to the number of live births with a spontaneous delivery (that is with no mention of manipulation or instrumentation) in a completely normal case, with no mention of any complication ante- or post-natally.
The second ratio (b) is the number of live births by caesarean section to all live births with a spontaneous delivery, irrespective of mention of any complication.
All live births by forceps, vacuum, breech and with abnormal presentation of head have been excluded from columns (a) and (b).
Column (c) shows the ratio of the number of live births by caesarean section to all live births.
In a multiple birth with at least one birth by caesarean section, all the births are counted as caesarean sections. 282W Births by caesarean section include those done electively, in emergency cases and for other reasons, but none is regarded as a delivery in a completely normal case.
The figures are derived from data on maternal discharges from a one in 10 sample of in-patient records from maternity units of National Health Service (NHS) non-psychiatric hospitals in England, and do not include, therefore, births occurring in private hospitals, at home or elsewhere.
Ratios of live births by caesarean section to 'normal' live births NHS Hospitals by region of mother's residence 1983 (Provisional)
England
Regional health authority of mother's usual residence (a) Ratio of caesareans to births with delivery in completely normal case (b) Ratio of caesareans to all births by spontaneous delivery (c) Ratio of caesareans to all live births Northern 0.200 0.116 0.091 Yorkshire 0.193 0.119 0.092 Trent 0.305 0.137 0.099 East Anglian 0.220 0.149 0.107 North West Thames 0.266 0.157 0.112 North East Thames 0.221 0.132 0.101 South East Thames 0.207 0.126 0.093 South West Thames 0.270 0.154 0.113 Wessex 0.225 0.126 0.096 Oxford 0.316 0.118 0.089 South Western 0.260 0.147 0.104 West Midlands 0.373 0.110 0.086 Mersey 0.192 0.154 0.112 North Western 0.276 0.138 0.106