More and more West Londoners are opting for caesaereans. Photo / Getty Images
Popular prejudice about the demanding women of West London, with their busy lifestyles and high-profile careers, is confirmed with figures showing the local NHS trust is the caesarean capital of Britain.
The flagship Chelsea and Westminster NHS Trust tops the league table of English hospital trusts with the highest rate
of caesarean-section deliveries in the country, inviting the irresistible conclusion that its mothers are "too posh to push".
One in three (33.8 per cent) of the 5230 deliveries at the trust was delivered by caesarean, more than twice the rate at Sherwood Forest Hospitals Foundation Trust, Nottingham (15.8 per cent).
Many caesareans are performed as emergencies when something goes wrong with the natural birth. But the rate of "elective", or planned, caesareans at the Chelsea and Westminster also outranked other trusts at 15.8 per cent.
The proportion of elective caesareans was three times higher at Chelsea and Westminster than at the lowest-ranked Peterborough and Stamford NHS Trust, which had a rate of 5.6 per cent.
Chelsea and Westminster Hospital is a favourite among celebrities, who are drawn to its private wing, which charges at least £6000 ($13,660) per birth, including consultant fees.
- INDEPENDENT
