SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES
The majority of births are straightforward vaginal deliveries of one baby in the head-down position and most labours proceed smoothly following the sequence of stages.
Special cases include breech births (where the baby is born bottom first - approximately 4% of births) and twins or multiple births, now becoming more frequent.
In these cases, plans for special procedures will have been made ahead of time but there are occasions when unplanned action has to be taken and a caesarean or instrumental delivery may be required.