Information released to the Southland Express shows there were 1252 births at the hospital, with 546 Caesareans, 597 normal vaginal births and 109 instrumental-assisted births.
According to the numbers, this means 43.47% of the deliveries were via C-section, an increase of more than 7% in the past five years as in 2020 there were 1158 births with 420 Caesareans at Southland Hospital.
The data shows the number of C-sections was well above the national trend.
A Health New Zealand spokesman said national birthing data for 2024 would only be available in the second half of the year, while the data for 2023 from both national and regional births showed Southland was up about 10% on the national figure.
"The latest national birthing data we have is provisional data for 2023. This data shows there were 56,746 birthing events nationwide in 2023, of which 18,118 were by elective or emergency Caesarean."
He said these figures related to pregnancies that resulted in at least one live or stillbirth as pregnancies that resulted in multiple births were only counted once in the data.
At Southland Hospital, there were 1144 births, with 475 of those delivered by C-section in 2023.
The data available shows the national C-section rate was 31.9% while in Southland it was 41.5%.
Health New Zealand acting general manager for Southland Hospital Joline Wilson said there were several reasons that could affect the number of Caesarean procedures performed.
"These include ensuring the clinical safety of both the birthing parent and baby, and birthing parents electing to have a Caesarean procedure."
Elective Caesareans were done for medical reasons in most cases, including for breech babies and when the mother had had a previous Caesarean.
While it could put pressure on an already busy hospital's theatre, Ms Wilson said surgeries were always prioritised based on urgency and patient need.
Health New Zealand did not hold specific data on how many surgeries had to be delayed due to elective or emergency Caesareans, she said.
"This means that sometimes, acute Caesarean procedures, like other acute procedures, can take priority over other, non-urgent elective surgeries ...
"Any decision to defer or delay care is not taken lightly and all decisions are made with patient safety and wellbeing as the highest priority."
Ms Wilson guaranteed any delayed surgeries were rescheduled for the next available opportunity.
While there were "lots of benefits" to having a vaginal birth, both for women and babies, it could often lead to a referral for an obstetrician or specialist to understand the best pathway for the health of both of them, she said.
"They [the midwives] just want the best outcomes for women and their babies and I think that, obviously, women
need different care.
"We're fortunate we live in a country where we've got a health system that has really free and ready access to tertiary and secondary hospital services when we need them ... We need to have the backup of the obstetric service, just as the obstetricians rely on midwives to provide the care we do.
"Our primary driver is really about making sure that we provide good care, meet the professional standards and that the outcome for the woman and the baby is the one that's best for them."
This was what happened with Invercargill woman Nathalia Paiva.
She is 39 weeks' pregnant with her first baby and expects to give birth in the next couple of days.
Due to a cyst in her uterus, she was referred to a specialist by her midwife and has visited four different professionals.
"Just one of them said I must deliver the baby naturally, but the rest explained to me all the risks and benefits of each of the procedures and I chose to deliver the baby via C-section," she said.
Due to a big number of surgeries scheduled at Southland Hospital, she was still waiting for a formal date for her delivery, she said.
"However, if I go into labour, then they tell me to go straight to the hospital.
"In the meantime, I am waiting and getting everything ready for the arrival of our beloved baby."
