Midwives have earned a commendation for cutting the number of Caesarean Section births.

Midwives at Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust have devised an audit system to encourage women to have natural births.

They carry out a series of checks, including checking on the position of the foetus and encouraging women to give birth from an upright position.

Midwives fill in forms on an hourly basis, monitoring how each woman’s birth is proceeding.

The system is used at both Maidstone and Pembury hospitals. Results from Pembury, where the audit has been running longer, show a two per cent reduction in the number of Caesarean Sections, between Janaury and October 2008, compared with January to December 2007.

Judges from the Royal College of Midwives placed the audit in the top three of all entries received in the innovation category at their awards ceremony.

Consultant midwife, Sarah Gregson, said: “Caesarean sections will always be needed by certain people to save the lives of mums and babies.

“But during the last 10 years the number of caesareans have doubled but they are not saving any more babies or mums and evidence also suggests women feel more fulfilled if they have given birth naturally.

“The audit has been devised by midwives working on the shop floor- it is not a Government initiative - and I am so proud of the team who have worked on this, while carrying out their normal duties.”

She added: “It is not a scientific standard of proof. It works on the basis that people who are being monitored think about their choices and amend their behaviour.”