A report in the Daily Mail has highlighted the increasing rate of elective Caesarean Sections for women who are "too scared to push".

The medical term for an abnormal fear of labour and birth is tocophobia and it appears that it is on the increase with some maternity units in the UK seeing the number of women asking for the procedure (rather than needing it for medical reasons) doubling in the past year.

According to Stephanie Borland writing in The Mail “The experience (of child birth) is often unnecessarily stressful because maternity units can be overstretched.  Women are often left alone and scared before and after labour as midwives simply do not have the time to offer them the advice and reassurance they need.”

Cathy Warwick, of the Royal College of Midwives, said: ‘If a midwife is very busy, clearly she won’t have time between dealing with women in labour to give others emotional support and reassurance.’

Not only do traumatic birth experiences cause more women to elect for a caesarean section next time around they increase the likelihood of women suffering from postnatal depression and some women even choose not to have another baby because they are so frightened of birth.

By choosing the care of Devon and Cornwall Independent Midwives you know that you will have your midwife with you at your birth.  We do not have time constraints and will stay with you to offer support and guidance throughout your labour and birth.  Why not look at our care package or read some of our birth stories?