| Hospital Utilization |
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| Cesarean Section |
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| What is a Cesarean Section? |
A cesarean section, or C-section, is the surgical delivery of an infant through an incision in the mother's abdomen and uterus. The incision may be made across the bottom of the abdomen above the pubic area (transverse) or, in certain situations, in a line from the navel to the pubic area (vertical). In many cases, a woman delivering by cesarean can remain awake during the childbirth and be with her newborn soon afterward.
See Healthwise for additional information on cesarean section.
* Adapted with permission from Healthwise® Knowledgebase, © 1995-2005 Healthwise, Incorporated, P.O. Box 1989, Boise, Idaho 83701. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
| What does this indicator mean? |
Cesarean Section Rate (Utilization). There is no recommended or benchmark rate for cesarean sections, and it is not clear if higher or lower rates are preferable. The cesarean section rate can be used for tracking trends in the use of cesarean sections over time, and for general information. The cesarean delivery rate (utilization rate) is calculated as the percent of all deliveries that were performed by Cesarean section (as opposed to vaginally).
Due to certain factors, some patients may be more or less likely deliver by cesarean section rather than vaginally. Each hospital’s utilization rate is adjusted for age to help account for some of these differences, but this adjustment is not perfect. We present this adjusted cesarean section rate in displays that follow.
On average, 2.4% of births in Oregon hospitals were delivered by cesarean section in 2004.
Gray lines are displayed with each hospital rate. These lines represent the amount of random variation or “noise”. If the gray line crosses the state average, the hospital rate is “within the margin of error” and therefore not statistically different than the state average for this procedure. Notice that the line is wider for hospitals with fewer deliveries.
Cesarean sections are performed when there is a complication in delivery, or if the patient has certain risk factors that make vaginal delivery unsafe. However, recommendations about appropriate used of cesarean section has changed over time, particularly in recent years. This information should be used as general information; any clinical decisions should be made with the help of a physician.
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| Hospital Utilization Data |
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These measures include simply 1) the percent of deliveries performed by cesarean section and 2) the percent of women with a previous cesarean delivery who subsequently had a vaginal birth (VBAC).
These measures do not have a “threshold” rate that is associated with quality, and they are adjusted only for difference in the patients’ ages.
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