NHS England previously had a 20 percent target for Caesarean births but has since decided to remove this goal to improve care for both mothers and babies.
The decision to change the targets came after Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust came under investigation when they received nearly 2,000 maternity incident reports.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) have provided new guidance which suggest that maternity staff should treat cases on an individual basis rather than following the aim to promote as many natural births as possible.
Caesareans can fall into three categories: elective, planned and emergency. Over one in four babies are now delivered by elective or emergency Caesarean in England.
In a letter sent to maternity units across England, NHS England chief midwife Jacqueline Dunkley-Bent and clinical director for women's health Dr Matthew Joly expressed concern over the target’s trusts were trying to hit.
In the letter they added: "We therefore ask all maternity services to stop using total Caesarean section rates as a means of performance management, as we are concerned by the potential for services to pursue targets that may be clinically inappropriate and unsafe in individual cases,"
The Health and Social Care Committee found that more than 1,000 babies a year would survive if England had safer maternity services.
The government announced last year a £2 million investment into research to spot the early signs of distress.
Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologist Vice President, Dr Jo Mountfield said: “These targets are not appropriate in individual circumstances. Both vaginal and Caesarean births carry certain benefits and risks, which should be discussed with women as they choose how they wish to give birth.”
