All you need to know about Caesareans

Around one in every four pregnant women in the UK ends up having a Caesarean, so it's a good idea to know what's involved, even if you're planning a vaginal birth. Just because the rate has increased in recent years doesn't make it any less of an operation. It's still major surgery and it's useful to know what to expect.

The basics

A Caesarean is where an incision is made through the skin and muscle of your lower abdomen, and into the womb, in order to deliver your baby.There are three 'types' of Caesarean:

• Elective: This is where the decision has been planned in advance by the mum-to-be and her obstetrician. It may be because the baby's lying in a breech position, the mum-to-be has had a previous Caesarean, has active herpes or has chosen for personal reasons not to give birth vaginally.
• Emergency: The baby may have started to show signs of distress in early labour or there might have been little progress during labour.
• Crash: This is a true emergency. If you don't have an epidural in place, you'll be given a general anaesthetic, as the baby needs to be delivered immediately. This may be because of a placental abruption (where the placenta separates from the womb wall, which results in bleeding), a prolapsed cord (where the placental cord falls into the birth canal ahead of the baby's head, potentially cutting off the blood supply) or the baby's heart rate is showing signs of distress.