C-Sections Are Still Too Common, Experts Say
Consumer Reports has no relationship with any advertisers on this website.
The rate of babies delivered by C-section in the U.S. dropped slightly to 31.9 percent last year from 32 percent in 2015, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That's a 3 percent drop from the 2009 peak of 32.9 percent.
The C-section rate for low-risk births, a number meant to track possibly unnecessary procedures, also fell slightly to 25.7 percent last year from 25.8 percent in 2015. “Low-risk” means full-term, first births of single babies in the head-down position.
Though stabilized, the rates are still much higher than they were in the mid-1990s, when the low-risk C-section rate hovered at around 19 percent, and the overall C-section rate was about 21 percent.
Tips to Avoid an Unnecessary C-Section
Pick the right hospital. A recent Consumer Reports analysis, which looked at data from 1,300 U.S. hospitals, revealed dramatic variations in hospital C-section rates, even within the same communities.
The C-section rate for low-risk births at large hospitals ranged from 7 percent to 51 percent. For this reason, it's important to look up your hospital’s rate in advance to get a sense of its overall track record. (You can use our hospital lookup tool here.)
Consider a midwife. For low-to-moderate risk pregnancies, going with a certified nurse midwife instead of an obstetrician can be a good strategy to help you avoid an unnecessary C-section, Peter says. Midwives do not do surgery themselves, and they only transfer women to a surgeon if there are serious complications.
Don’t rush. Unless you live hours from the hospital where you’re delivering, talk to your provider about how long you can stay home once your labor starts.
“Be really thoughtful about when you go to the hospital,” says Shah. “Showing up too early is actually a fairly big risk factor for getting a C-section,” because doctors don’t always let labor proceed naturally.
Once you arrive at the hospital, try to ignore the clock: A long labor is not in itself a good reason for a C-section, according to the ACOG guidelines. And a doctor should never induce labor unless it's medically important—if a woman's water breaks but labor does not start naturally, for example.
More from Consumer Reports:
Top pick tires for 2016
Best used cars for $25,000 and less
7 best mattresses for couples
Copyright © 2006-2017 Consumer Reports, Inc.
