How long does it take to deliver a baby by emergency Caesarean section?

This audit documented the current range of decision-to-delivery reaction times for 464 emergency Caesarean sections performed in maternity hospitals with differing levels of facilities, and examined the reasons for any perceived delay. The median (with 10th-90th percentile) times from when the decision was made to perform an emergency Caesarean section to the delivery of the child were: 69 (37-114), 54 (28-94) and 42 (17-86) minutes in Level 1, 2 and 3 maternity hospitals respectively when the indication for delivery was urgent. Less urgent emergency Caesarean sections took 70 (42-125), 66 (38-141) and 67 (35-164) minutes respectively. The main perceived reasons for delay in the delivery were staff unavailability in Level 1 hospitals, theatre access in Level 2 hospitals and anaesthetic complications in Level 3 hospitals. Therefore the decision-to-delivery reaction times in the majority of urgent emergency Caesarean sections are, in practice, much longer than the times commonly advocated and are influenced by the facilities and staff available.