In 2019, most mothers who had a caesarean section had a regional anaesthetic (69% spinal, 18% epidural or caudal) and 5.5% had a general anaesthetic (note that some mothers had both).
Most mothers who had an instrumental vaginal birth had an anaesthetic. A regional anaesthetic was most common (62% epidural or caudal and 3.6% spinal), followed by a local anaesthetic to the perineum (23%).
Women who had a vaginal instrumental birth using forceps (93%) were more likely to have anaesthesia administered than women who had a vacuum extraction (86%).
First-time mothers were slightly more likely to have anaesthesia administered than women who had given birth before (for example, 3.6% of first-time mothers had no anaesthesia, compared with 2.0% of mothers who had previously given birth 4 or more times).
For related information see National Core Maternity Indicator General anaesthetic for women giving birth by caesarean section