More babies were delivered through caesareans in Shropshire last year than ever before, figures reveal.

NHS England recently told hospitals to stop using caesarean section rates as performance targets as they might be "clinically inappropriate and unsafe" for patients – though these figures pre-date the move.

Of the 630 births recorded in Shropshire in 2020-21 in Office for Health Improvement and Disparities figures, 28% were delivered by C-section.

That was up from 23.5% the year before, and the highest rate since records began in 2014-15.

Across England, 32.5% of births in England in 2020-21 were delivered by caesarean section – up from 30.1% in 2019-20.

This rate was also a record high.

The figures also show huge disparity in rates between local areas – from as high as 39.8% in Thurrock, in the East of England, to just 24.9% in Telford and Wrekin.

A recent review of failings at the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust – which is the main provider of services for Telford and Wrekin – found some mothers were made to have natural births when they should have been offered a caesarean.

The review found that around 200 babies and nine mothers could have survived if it had provided better care while the trust aimed to preserve its low caesarean rate.

Following the Government's recommendation, NHS England told all maternity services to stop using total caesarean section rates as a means of performance management earlier this year.

The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists said it welcomed the decision from NHS England, as caesarean birth targets are "not appropriate in individual circumstances".

The general fertility rate – measured by the number of babies born for every 1,000 females aged between 15 and 44 – fell to just 55.3 in 2020, the latest figures available.

In Shropshire, the rate was 52.5 in 2020 – down from 52.9 in 2019, and also the lowest since comparable records began in 2010.