Insurer to halt Caesarean payouts

Thousands of women have been told they can no longer claim for the cost of Caesarean sections on their private health insurance.

AXA PPP Healthcare, Britain's second largest medical insurer, is reported to have withdrawn funding for Caesarean births because of concerns that women were choosing them for "lifestyle" reasons. Even without complications each Caesarean birth at a private hospital leaves health insurers with a £7,000 bill.

Other health insurers are believed to be reviewing their policies following a doubling in the number of Caesarean sections over the past 20 years. They now account for about one in five births. AXA PPP Healthcare, which has 2.5 million customers, intends to reduce the level of benefits available for obstetrics procedures across its range of insurance plans.

Supporters of natural childbirth have claimed that some doctors at private hospitals will exaggerate the medical need for the operation to enable patients to claim the costs on insurance.