The increase outstrips that seen among women from poorer backgrounds, reigniting the debate over women becoming “too posh to push”.
The study, by a team at Glasgow University, looked at hundreds of thousands of women who gave birth between 1980 and 2000.
While emergency caesarean rates were not linked to social class, pre-planned caesarean rates, known as elective operations, were tied to class, they found.
In 1980 about one in 28 women from higher social classes had an elective caesarean. By 2000, this had risen to one in 14.
In contrast, one in 30 women from the most deprived backgrounds opted for a caesarean in 1980. But 2000 this had hardly changed, rising to one in 28.
Middle-class mothers are often older and therefore may be advised by doctors to have a caesarean on medical grounds.
But the authors say this cannot explain the disparity between the two groups as they factored maternal age into their calculations.
The study showed that the women most likely to opt for an elective operation were middle-class mothers who had already had a caesarean. Although this could be down to medical reasons, there were fears that some women are opting for a second caesarean because it is an easier option than a natural delivery.
Last night, the National Childbirth Trust said more had to be done to convince women to give birth naturally.
Mary Newburn, head of research and information at NCT, said: “This study confirms other research findings that rising caesarean section rates do not reflect clinical need.”
The study, published in the journal BMC Public Health, also showed that the chance of having an elective caesarean varies depending on the hospital.
About a quarter of babies born in Britain are caesarean deliveries.