A recent New York Times opinion piece addresses the issue of increased utilization of C-sections in U.S. hospitals and the potential risks of this growing practice. The author notes that America’s C-section rate has risen by 50 percent in the past decade, and is now used in a third of all births, with most of the increase coming in low-risk births.

The author cites California data on C-section rates which reports that Sonoma Valley Hospital, with an Uncomplicated Primary Cesarean Delivery rate of 8.1, is less than half of the state’s average rate (17.3) and among the lowest for all hospitals in California. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists sets a target rate of 15.5 percent for first-birth low-risk C-sections.

 The NYT piece can be found at: http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/05/07/in-delivery-rooms-reducing-births-of-convenience/.

The report on California hospitals can be found at: http://www.oshpd.ca.gov/HID/Products/PatDischargeData/ResearchReports/HospIPQualInd/Vol-Util_IndicatorsRpt/2012Util.pdf