C-Section Essential Information Series

ANSWER: “How can you find out the Cesarean section rate of my doctor, midwife, or hospital? The truth is that it’s not that easy. Most hospitals these days have to report their C-section rate to the Joint Commission which is responsible for regulating and accrediting hospitals.

So most hospitals know their C-section rate. Not all of them publicly report it though, there are a few sources to get a hospital’s c-section rate. Right now consumer reports are actually reporting hospital C-section rates. If you Google hospital c-section rates there is about a 50-50 chance that you’ll find it on the internet, but not always. It’s also pretty hard to get the C-section rate that is specific to your doctor or midwife.

To be honest, they might not know so it can be really hard for you and it can be surprising, but its hard to know your own C-section rate unless your hospital formally tracks that information. It’s really important to know the c-section rate of your hospital. Most hospitals have that information, but it’s not always publicly available so you can try to find it on google consumer reports or The Leapfrog Group.

A bunch people do report it, so, in summary, the best way to find out your hospital, doctor, or your midwife’s C-section rate is honestly just to ask, and if they don’t know the answer it’s because they honestly may not know. It’s a hard thing to know unless somebody tracks it and tells it to you. I’m not sure how meaningful a doctor or midwife level c-section rate is, because it can change a lot depending on how many patients they care for, but a hospital C-section rate is important. A hospital should know that information and I think that you have a right to know that information. So if the hospital is unwilling to tell you that information I think its fair to consider whether or not that’s the place that you want to be.”