Mothers at Dorset County Hospital are more likely to give birth naturally than at any other hospital in the UK, new figures show.

Figures released by NHS England show that the mothers giving birth at the hospital were least likely to have a C-section with just 3.6 per cent of giving birth having C-sections while 96.4 per cent gave birth naturally followed by Royal United Hospitals Bath and Barnsley Hospital.

However, nationally, the trend shows that women giving birth at hospitals in England’s most exclusive postcodes are nearly nine times more likely to have C-sections.

The highest in the country saw more than a third, or 38.1 per cent, of all births at Cambridge University Hospitals, were C-section Caesareans followed by Worcestershire Acute Hospital and Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals.

The NHS England data, collected from 128 providers, is based on the 44,619 babies born in April.

The overall rate of planned C-sections was 13.2 per cent across the country however when including emergency procedures, the rate jumped to 28.9 per cent.

The proportion of women over 40 giving birth in England and Wales has also trebled in the last 30 years, from 4.9 per 1,000 in 1984 to 14.7 per 1,000 in 2014.

The average age for a woman to have her first child in the UK is now 30 however one in 25 of all UK births is now to a mother over the age of 40.

Older mothers, obesity and a fear of childbirth are also driving record numbers of Caesareans, according to the NHS.

Last year almost 28 per cent of women who gave birth nationally had a Caesarean, a three-fold rise since the 1980s.

The figures from NHS Digital are the highest since records began in 1980 showing that only half of women who gave birth last year went into labour naturally, 55 per cent.

Health experts claim the total rate should be closer to 15 per cent, which could save the NHS around £80 million each year.

C-sections cost the NHS around £1,000 more than vaginal deliveries due to the extra staff, equipment and medication that is required. However, although usually safe, C-sections can cause blood clots, excessive bleeding and womb infections.

Professor Eugene Declercq, an expert in maternal and child health at Boston University, said: “Many women want to avoid the pain of childbirth but studies show women face more difficulties after C-sections. Around 18 per cent of women still feel pain at the site six months later.”

Under NHS guidelines, expectant mothers are entitled to request the procedure if they are fearful of a natural labour.

But out of 91 hospitals, 21 admitted they did not routinely offer it to women who don’t have a medical reason.

Campaigners said denying women Caesareans – which goes against Nice guidelines - was ‘cruel’ when the divisive issue was exposed.