Delivering a baby by a planned caesarean section is cheaper for the NHS than a vaginal birth, research suggests.
Around £400 could be saved once compensation costs are taken into consideration.
The majority of expectant mothers are being denied a C-section, despite official guidelines saying they should have the choice.
However experts have raised concerns over the guidelines having previously found that the risks of serious complications - including haemorrhaging - are higher with C-sections than vaginal births.
Planned C-sections are £400 cheaper for the NHS than vaginal births after taking compensation claims into consideration, a study has found
In 2017/18, maternity claims represented the biggest area of spend for NHS Resolution, the body that handles NHS compensation claims.
Gynaecological and obstetric injury claims are made when complications such as an injury arise because poor standards of care of negligence.
They can be particularly expensive because babies may need specialist care for life if they are left brain-damaged by labour, for example.
Of the clinical negligence claims notified to the organisation, obstetrics claims represented 10 per cent of clinical claims by number.
But they accounted for 48 per cent of the total value of new claims (£2,166.3million of the total £4,513.2million).
The authors of the latest study said this exceeded the entire cost of all types of deliveries for the year 2017/18 (£1,954.6 million).
One in every four pregnant women in the UK now has a caesarean birth.
For many women, it is scheduled because a natural birth is deemed too risky.
Medical conditions include diabetes, high blood pressure, HIV that could be passed from mother to baby, or problems with the placenta during her pregnancy.
Women with no other medical reason should be offered appropriate discussion and support if they want a C-section to make an informed choice, NICE says.
Generally it is a safe procedure, and the level of risk will depend on things such as whether the procedure is planned or carried out as an emergency, and your general health.
It's a major surgery that involves opening up a pregnant woman's abdomen and removing the baby from her uterus.
One study, published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, found that the chances of problems after a caesarean were 1.5 times higher for a mother than for vaginal births.
Older mothers - over the age of 35 -who give birth by caesarean are three times more likely to experience severe complications than those who give birth naturally.
Although uncommon, needing admission to an intensive care unit is more likely after a caesarean birth than after a vaginal birth, according to NICE. It is not clear whether this happens as a result of a caesarean section or because of the reasons for needing a caesarean section.
Midwives or doctors should discuss the benefits and risks of a caesarean section compared with a vaginal birth with the pregnant woman taking individual circumstances into consideration.
Previous economic modelling by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) has found that vaginal deliveries are about £700 cheaper than a planned C-section, but these
