Kate Middleton determined to have a natural birth

Kate Middleton is to have a natural birth.

Contrary to speculation that she may have a planned caesarean, the Duchess of Cambridge is set to avoid the 'too posh to push' label, as she prepares to give birth in the same hospital husband Prince William was born in.

It's a decision that will no doubt please midwife and medical groups concerned that caesareans are increasingly being seen as an 'easy option' when it comes to birth.

A quarter of babies born in the UK now arrive by caesarean rather than vaginal birth, compared to just nine per cent in 1980. But the World Health Organisation recommends only 15 per cent of births should be via caesarean, and most of these will be because natural birth would put mum, baby or both at any increased risk.

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Celebrities including Victoria Beckham and Britney Spears have opted to deliver their babies by elective caesarean, raising the profile of the procedure in non-emergency cases.

But giving birth by caesarean is far from an 'easy way out'. The operation involved is major surgery, can involve complications and takes far longer to recover from than natural birth.

In 2011 the National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) officially recommended that women should be given the option to have a caesarean on the NHS if they chose to do so. In the past this was determined by the mum-to-be's medical team.

Fear of labour, concerns about pain and worries about what will happen to their body are all reasons women may want to choose a caesarean rather than attempt to give birth naturally.

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Now women are able to choose but are still usually offered counselling and information to encourage them to try and give birth naturally.

The unkind label 'too posh to push' has been thrown at women from more affluent backgrounds who have more resources available to them, but in reality there are many reasons why the number of babies born by caesarean is increasing in the UK - not least, the age of first time mums.

Patrick O'Brien, a spokesman for the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, and a consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist at University College London Hospitals, said affluence may have a small part to play in fuelling the demand for caesareans but didn't tell the whole story.

"We know that the older you are the greater your chances of having a caesarean, and that is one big factor," he said.

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"The second big factor is related - if you have other medical problems, pre-existing medical problems such as diabetes or high blood pressure when you become pregnant, you have a higher chance of having a caesarean. If the pregnant population is getting older then it is more likely that these other pre-existing medical conditions are there.

"The third factor is women's weight. We know that women who are very overweight are much more likely to have a caesarean section.

"I suspect that there is a higher chance of women asking for a caesarean in an affluent area but I think that is only a small part of the explanation. I think a bigger part of it is age."

Our bodies are designed to give birth (even if the grapefruit squeezing through a hole the size of a lemon metaphor is often used to describe it) and recovery is significantly quicker than with a caesarean, which can mean a longer hospital stay and difficulties lifting and interacting with your baby when you go home.

They are often necessary and life saving but advocates of natural birth will hope the Duchess's decision will influence other women in the future.