Caesarean births: Why so many at some hospitals?

A Department of Public Health report released earlier this month found sharply varying rates of caesarean births at Massachusetts hospitals among first-time mothers with low-risk pregnancies. State health officials need to find out the reason for the variation. Hospitals must not only provide all legally feasible requested information, but also be part of the solution by initiating additional ways of the studying the problem.

The first step is for hospitals and obstetricians to recognize that approving major abdominal surgery for a low-risk pregnancy should be an unusual event. According to the March of Dimes, the average caesarean costs about $3,500 more than a vaginal delivery, an insurance burden that is transferred to consumers. More importantly, the practice can be detrimental to the health of mother and child; studies show that infants born by caesareans have increased rates of respiratory illnesses and feeding disorders, and mothers are faced with longer recoveries and are more likely to develop infections or blood clots.