The 'slow' caesarean that is more like a natural birth: Procedure allows baby to emerge from the womb by itself rather than being rapidly removed by doctors

‘Natural caesareans’, said to give babies a slower and calmer arrival into the world, could soon be available on the NHS.

The procedure allows the baby to partly emerge from the womb by itself rather than being rapidly removed by doctors and ‘whisked away’ from the mother.

It can take up to four minutes for the baby to be born during a natural caesarean, before it is placed on the mother’s chest, which is thought to help bonding.

Doctors will carry out the first trials this summer to test whether the operation is less risky for newborns than the standard procedure.

Babies born by traditional C-section are susceptible to respiratory problems as they are brought out so quickly that they struggle to adapt to breathing normal air.

Experts say slower, natural caesareans reduce this risk and are more beneficial to the mother as she feels more involved.

The procedure – to be tested at University College Hospital in Central London – involves making an incision into the womb and bringing out the baby’s head. It is then left to manoeuvre its shoulders out alone in a way that is similar to natural birth. 

The procedure was pioneered at the Queen Charlotte’s and Chelsea private hospital in London more than a decade ago and is currently only offered in a few private clinics.

But if this trial is a success, it could be made widely available across NHS hospitals as a half-way alternative to women unable to give birth naturally.

Currently around one in four women who give birth in the UK have caesareans and this figure has doubled since the 1990s. 

Health bosses are trying to reduce this rate amid concerns they have a higher risk of complications for mother and baby and are costly. 

Consultant midwife Belinda Green, who is leading the trial, said: ‘So many women say the bond with their baby is stronger after a skin-to-skin caesarean, and there is evidence to suggest it reduces a number of complications after birth.

‘The demand for this type of birth continues to increase and I am constantly being contacted by women who want it.’ 

Jenny Smith, a senior midwife at the Queen Charlotte’s and Chelsea Hospital, said: ‘It is about the mother. After the incision is made the mother is able to see her little baby wriggle out. It is a special moment that is missed otherwise.

‘The baby remains in the abdomen for up to four minutes and the mother can look at it, see its little face and when it wriggles out it is the parents that first determine the sex.’

Natural caesareans are only offered to women who have reached the full-term 37 weeks of pregnancy and have no complications. The baby must be head-first in the womb, with a healthy heartbeat.

Charlotte Philby, 32, had two traditional caesareans before having her third child by the natural procedure last year.

She said: ‘The first two were very clinical. The baby is cut out and immediately bundled up and whisked away. But the moment Xander lay on my chest, skin-to-skin, he was completely soothed. He was really calm.

‘It was quite an amazing moment and I realised this is what women meant when they talked about their experience of birth.’

Royal College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology spokesman Dr Patrick O’Brien said: ‘There are no disadvantages to the method. It should be available to every woman. The trial is an exciting step forward.’