article_snippet.sent: Just over a quarter of women giving birth in England now have a caesarean and the rate has more than doubled since the early 1990s.
article_snippet.sent: This includes a growing number of women opting to have planned caesareans because they are very anxious about giving birth naturally.
article_snippet.sent: ‘Although it can save lives, caesarean section is often performed without medical need, putting women and their babies at risk of short- and long-term health problems.
article_snippet.sent: A planned caesarean costs the NHS an average of £2,369, compared to a natural birth at £1,665.
article_snippet.sent: The watchdog NICE issued revised recommendations in 2011 allowing women to have the operation if women were very anxious about childbirth, a condition known as tokophobia.
article_snippet.sent: Just over a quarter of women giving birth in England now have a caesarean and the rate has more than doubled since the early 1990s .
article_snippet.sent: Women are also advised to have planned caesareans if Women have had a previous complicated birth, are over 40 or have a medical condition such as asthma, diabetes or depression.
article_snippet.sent: Previous research has found that as many as one in ten caesareans cause infections.
highlights_snippet.sent: UN officials say procedure should only be done when ‘medically necessary'
  Over a quarter of women in England now have a a caesarean birth .
  
highlights_snippet.sent: The rate, which includes voluntary mothers, has doubled since early 1990s .