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Deciding Where to Give Birth in Yorkshire?

Writer's picture: Julia KitchingJulia Kitching

Updated: Feb 3


Birth-Centre-Lotus-Suite-LGI-Leeds
Lotus Suite Birth Centre - Leeds General Infirmary

Birth Choices

Deciding where to give birth is a really important decision. Giving birth is a magical and transformative experience and as you start to explore your options, you will discover that there are many birth choices available to you. Not only will you need to decide where to have your baby, but you'll also need to decide how you'd like to birth your baby and what birth experience you would like to have. From deciding on the room environment, to the support in the room, to the medication you would consider (if any), to the intervention and assistance options. It's a lot to think about. Having the support of a Doula can be really beneficial during pregnancy and birth and a Doula can help you to understand your options, birth choices and help you to make informed decisions.



One other key thing to consider when thinking about where to give birth, is which hospital Trust you would like to receive your care from. Now, not everybody wants medical care when giving birth and you can decide not to receive any medical care at all and that is entirely your choice. Like with all these decisions, every decision is your decision and that's why it is important to be able to make informed decisions, that are right for you and your baby. However, if you do decide to receive care from a local hospital Trust, which one would be right for you? Remember that you can give birth anywhere that YOU want.


Yorkshire Hospital Trusts - Maternity Care

In Yorkshire, there are a number of hospital Trusts and they all have their own ways of working within the maternity system, level of care and statistics. It is worth looking at these statistics, to decide which Trust will most likely give you the birth experience that you would like.


When you decide to buy a new car, you don't usually go and buy the first car that you see. You would do some research. Maybe go for a test drive, research the reliability of the car. You would compare different makes and models, consider which cars have the equipment and features that you would like from a car. Maybe you would look at a Which? report and see which car comes out best, based on various research and opinions from the experts.


It's the same with where and how to give birth. Your birth experience is a really important decision to make, much bigger than choosing a car, yet we very rarely put the same amount time and effort into preparing for our birth. Somehow, we see materialistic items as a priority and we make sure that we choose the right items for us. Your birth preparation needs to be your number one priority when it comes to having a baby and giving birth.



West Yorkshire Maternity Hospitals

I have done some analysis on some of the local hospital Trusts in West Yorkshire. I wanted to include Barnsley Hospital Trust in my analysis, but unfortunately Barnsley Hospital haven't been very transparent with their data. Their infographic isn't worth the paper that it's written on. The pie chart that they've provided to show the number of women who've had vaginal births, caesarean sections and instrumental births, has no figures. This means we don't know the exact numbers. They've also not included any data on the number of inductions. What we do know though, is the number of babies born, the lightest and heaviest babies, the busiest day, (not particularly useful for birth prep), the number of babies born in water (1.3% in March 2024) and the number of home births (0 in March 2024). We also don't have any up-to-date data for Barnsley Maternity Services since March 2024, as of January 2025 when this data was updated. The pie chart for March 2024, would indicate that the majority of women either had major abdominal surgery (c-section) to birth their baby or instrumental deliveries. This is probably why the exact numbers have not been disclosed or updated. If you plan to give birth under the care of Barnsley Hospital, make sure that you ask lots of questions and fully understand your birth options and ask your midwife to provide you with recent statistics if you need to. It's important to know that you and your baby are being cared for correctly, with woman centred care and you are given informed birth choices.


The Trusts in West Yorkshire that I have been able to analyse the data from are Leeds Hospital Trust, Mid Yorkshire Hospital Trust, Calderdale and Huddersfield Trust and Airedale Hospital Trusts. I have looked at the data from October 2023 - December 2024. Leeds still need to update their hospital figures from May 2024 onwards and I'm still waiting for data from Airedale for December 2024. This data will be updated once these two Trusts release their updated figures.


I have looked at these 4 West Yorkshire Hospital Trust's induction of labour rates, emergency (unplanned) caesarean sections, elective (planned) caesarean sections, waterbirths, vaginal births, homebirths and the number of babies born in a birth centre (if applicable to that Trust). Data for induction of labour has not been made available for Calderdale or Airedale hospital, so this is something to definitely consider if you are planning to birth your baby at either of these Trusts. Ask your Midwife or Dr if they can provide you with the recent data if you are planning to give birth at Calderdale or Airedale hospital. This will help you to make an informed decision. I will keep this blog updated, as and when I receive up-to-date data.


Birth-Room-At-Bronte-Centre-Yorkshire
Birthing Room at Bronte Centre

Induction of Labour

You might think that induction of labour is not something that you are planning or want. However, it is still a good idea to have all the facts at your finger tips. A recent report from Dr Sara Wickham (2024) quotes that "Women who try to decline induction of labour often report being coerced by someone over-emphasising possible (but unlikely) risks to their baby." Dr Sara Wickham (2024) also says that "many women with so-called risk factors (and not actual medical problems) are now told they need induction of labour". In a recent survey, just over a third of maternity units in the UK showed induction rates varying from 19.2% to 53.4% (Taylor et al 2024). This doesn't include women who have received interventions to induce labour either, such as stretch and sweeps or elective caesareans.


Many women agree to inductions, based on a very tiny risk of waiting for their labour to start naturally. They then often find themselves being told that the hospital is too busy and their induction has to be delayed. They then become very anxious and worried, because they are told that induction is critical and then they are told to just sit and wait until it's their turn. (Dr Sara Wickham, 2024). Induction of labour is not always the right decision to make for you or your baby and that's why you need to fully understand the risks and make an informed decision, based on your individual circumstances.


Mid Yorkshire Trust have included statistics on their women who received inductions and then went on to require further assistance, such as caesarean sections or foreceps/ventouse. I have included this data in my analysis.



Analysis of Results


October-2023-Birth-Statistics-in-Yorkshire


November-2023-Birth-Statistics-in-Yorkshire


December-2023-Birth-Statistics-in-Yorkshire



January-2024-Birth-Statistics-in-Yorkshire


February-2024-Birth-Statistics-in-Yorkshire


March-2024-Birth-Statistics-in-Yorkshire

Yorkshire-Hospital-Trusts-Birth-Figures-April-2024


May-2024-Birth-Statistics-in-Yorkshire

June-2024-Maternity-Statistics-In-Yorkshire

July-2024-Birth-Statistics-in-Yorkshire


Yorkshire-Maternity-Hospital-Figures-August-2024


September-2024-Birth-Statistics-in-Yorkshire


October-2024-Birth-Statistics-in-Yorkshire


November-2024-Birth-Statistics-in-Yorkshire


December-2024-Birth-Statistics-in-Yorkshire


Average-Maternity-Statistics-In-Yorkshire


Graph-Showing-%-Who-Received-Further-Intervention-After-Induction-Of-Labour

As you can see from the data, induction of labour rates across Yorkshire are pretty high. From the four hospital Trusts that I analysed, only Leeds and Mid Yorkshire include their induction of labour figures. Out of these two hospitals, Leeds have the highest rate of induction on average. However, we do not have the data for Airedale or Calderdale, so their figures could be similar, significantly higher, or lower. The UK average for induction in 2020-2021 was 34%. This means that around 1 in 3 women in the UK are induced, which is up 10% in the last decade and means that induction of labour is pretty common in the UK. Some UK maternity Trusts have an induction rate as high as 50%. From the data provided from Mid Yorkshire Trust, we can also see that the majority of women who are induced, then go on to require further intervention, such as a caesarean section or needing their baby to be delivered via foreceps/ventouse. From research and studies that have been carried out world wide on induction of labour, we know that induction is more likely to lead to further intervention. Therefore, this data provided by Mid Yorkshire is not a surprise and not unique to Mid Yorkshire Trust.


The number of women having a waterbirth, in any of the analysed hospitals, is pretty low. We don't know whether this is due to lack of water birth pools being available, women being refused waterbirths or maternal choice. Around only 3-4% of women give birth in water. If you birth your baby in a Mid Yorkshire hospital, you have a slightly higher chance, with an average of 5% of water births occurring.


Home births are also incredibly low, with an average of only 1% of women giving birth at home. This could be due to a variety of factors, either maternal choice, clinical need or closure of the home birth team. This is a real shame, because statistically home births are safer than hospital births for low risk women and not many women consider a home birth as an option, thinking that it is too risky. Thankfully the Bronte Centre in Dewsbury reopened in April 2024 and this is a fantastic birth centre for women wanting a home from home birth, which is midwife led and a mid way option between a hospital birth and a home birth.

Birth-Centre-In-Dewsbury-Bronte-Centre-With-Birth-Pool-Birthing-Ball-Chair
Bronte Birth Centre in West Yorkshire

Birth-Pool-Birth-Ball-At-Bronte-Centre
Bronte Birth Centre Room 1.

Bronte Centre Birth Centre

The Bronte Centre in Dewsbury is a gorgeous place to give birth, if a home birth isn't quite your thing or not an option. There are 4 delivery rooms, 2 which have birthing pools and all have private en-suite facilities. You can visit the Bronte Centre during pregnancy if you would like a tour, to see if this is something that you would like. Just give the team a call to arrange a visit.


Since the Bronte Centre opened in April 2024, on average only 2% of people booked with Mid Yorkshire Trust, birthed their baby there. I would highly consider the Bronte Centre as a possible birth option and speak to one of the Bronte Centre midwives if you have any concerns or questions about birthing in this stand alone birth centre. The midwives will do all that they can to accommodate your birth here, even if you've been told that you are high risk. They will look at your individual circumstances and see what options you have, whilst also taking into account any safety issues for you or your baby. The risk of any intervention is much lower for women giving birth in the birth centre and your chances of having a positive birth experience is much higher. The midwives are highly trained at noticing any risks during your labour and can manage them accordingly. They will always put Mum and baby first and act quickly and effectively. The number of episiotomies carried out at the Bronte Centre since April 2024 is 0% and the number of women haemorrhaging is only 1%. This is significantly lower than hospital rates of episiotomies and haemorrhages. This is mainly due to higher rates of intervention occurring in hospital settings and resulting in an increase in episiotomies and haemorrhages. We know from research that intervention increases the risk of episiotomies and haemorrhage. A birth taking place in a birth centre involves a more physiological approach.


Caesarean Sections

If we look at the rates of caesarean sections for the hospitals analysed, we can see that the figures are pretty high. Leeds has the lowest caesarean rates, for both elective and emergency, however we have not seen the latest data for Leeds, since May 2024. Calderdale and Mid Yorkshire have the highest and caesarean sections across the UK are on the rise. In 2023 31% of births are by caesarean section and 16% of these births are by elective c-section. In the last 20 years, the rate of c-sections have risen by 50%, from 1 in 5 births, to 1 in 3 births.



Given the high caesarean section rates, it's worth making a caesarean section plan. By knowing what happens during a caesarean section and knowing more about caesarean section recovery, this can help you to still have a positive experience if your birth plan A or plan B does not happen. I have written a book all about c-sections and you can buy a copy on Amazon. Anyone who hires me as their Doula, will receive a copy of my book absolutely free. It's called "Your Caesarean Section Journey Guide & Journal: Creating Birth Choices & Positive Journeys". It is for anyone who is planning an elective c-section, or for people who are just wanting to know more about c-sections to help them to feel prepared.



Making an Informed Decision

As you can see from the data analysed, there is a high chance of having an induced birth or a caesarean section. This might be something that you would prefer, do not want or it might be the safest option for you or your baby. However, to determine that, you need to be aware of all of your options and choices, know the facts, the risks and be able to make an informed decision, that feels right for you.


If you would like any support in making an informed decision for your birth or want any help to prepare for your birth, my Antenatal Doula and Birth Doula support packages and my Hypnobirthing courses, cover birth preparation in great detail and I can help you to fully prepare for your birth and increase your chances of having a positive birth experience.

Visit my website to find out more and see how I can support you.



Julia x

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