Investigating the relationship between affluence and elective caesarean sections

The proportion of women delivering by caesarean section has increased dramatically in England and many westernised countries. It has been suggested that one important reason for this increase is the growing proportion of women opting for elective caesareans for lifestyle reasons, a trend that is, it is argued, most common among the affluent. We investigated the hypothesis that affluent women are more likely to deliver by elective caesarean section. Logistic regression modelling was used to analyse data from half a million women who delivered in English NHS hospitals between 1996 and 2000. We found that women living in the most affluent areas of England were significantly more likely to have an elective caesarean section than their deprived counterparts.