According to The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine, C-sections carry serious risks of infection or blood clots and are performed too often in the U.S.
Based on the this information, The Leapfrog Group set a target rate for C-sections of 23.9 percent or lower. Then, they examined C-section data from 1,122 hospitals in 2015. Their study found:
1. More than 60 percent of the hospitals that reported data had rates of C-sections that exceeded The Leapfrog Group’s target of 23.9 percent
2. Some states — like Utah and Idaho — excelled with average rates less than 20 percent
3. Others failed to achieve the target, with average rates over 32 percent, like Florida and Kentucky
4. Nearly half (49.7 percent) of rural hospitals achieved the target rate, but only 36.8 percent of urban hospitals did so
5. The variation in C-section rates among hospitals in the same community is striking; In one northeast metro area, hospital rates ranged from less than 26 percent to over 40 percent
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