You can tell a lot about the culture of a hospital by their statistics. Statistics tell us part of the story, and we should listen to them. Leap Frog Group collects voluntary data from hospitals all around the country and publishes them on their website. You can put in your location and compare the hospitals in your area. I did exactly that 2 years ago, and so I wanted to revisit the information and see what kind of progress, if any, the hospitals I visit as a doula have made since I originally looked.
In the below chart, I’ve compiled three maternity statistics for better understanding a hospital’s culture. Here are some things you should know before you see the numbers:
- Early Elective Deliveries are defined as elective induction or cesarean sections before 39 weeks. This does not include medically indicated early deliveries.
- This Cesarean Section data is for NSTV (research speak for 1st time parents, 38+ weeks pregnant, with a single head-down baby) cesarean rates and does not include repeat cesarean deliveries. This is an important distinction. Leapfrog Group uses the Healthy People 2020 goal of 23.9% for primary cesarean deliveries in this category.
- Episiotomies are a cut made to the perineum during the birth process. While sometimes necessary, routine episiotomies are not evidence-based practice.
- The numbers in (parentheses) are the previous numbers reported in 2017. I only looked at three hospitals that year, so apologies for not being able to compare for all the hospitals listed here.
| Hospital | Early Elective Deliveries | Cesarean Sections | Episiotomies |
| The Women’s Hospital | 1.7% (1.4%) | 22.9% (24.3%) | 14.8% (18.5%) |
| St. Vincent’s* Medical Center of Evansville | .8% (2.1%) | 27.2% (37.2%) | 6.8% (8.4%) |
| Owensboro Health | 1.4% (2.1%) | 29.7% (30.7%) | 12.7% (19.5%) |
| Methodist Hospital of Henderson | 2.4% | 26.1% | 2.4% |
| Memorial Hospital & Healthcare Center Jasper, IN | 0.0% | 12.8% | 9.8% |
| Daviess Community Hospital Washington, IN | 1.9% | 15.2% | 13.1% |
*Listed as St. Mary’s Medical Center of Evansville on the website, but they have since changed their name to St. Vincent’s Medical Center of Evansville.
-Good Samaritan in Vincennes declined to respond
-IU Health in Bloomington, IN declined to respond
What a difference 2 years made!! Yes, there is always room for improvement, but these numbers give me serious hope that the needle is at least moving in the right direction. I take ZERO credit for these statistical improvements, but will most definitely celebrate these hospitals’ achievements.
The numbers certainly do not tell the whole story. As an anthropologist and doula, of course I would think that right? Qualitative data would be especially helpful for better understanding, and these are not the only numbers we as consumers should be discussing. I also want to know about quality of care and how people feel like they are being treated, including reports of obstetric violence.
What about access to VBAC and hospital level data for VBAC? I can find state level data for VBAC, but nothing looking at the smaller and more specific picture. And in case you were wondering:
| State | Births after previous cesarean as a % of all births | VBAC rate of reporting state |
| Indiana | 13.9% | 12.8% |
| Illinois | 15.6% | 14.7% |
| Kentucky | 16.9% | 8.3% |
What about physician specific statistics as well? I used to be able to find that data, but after much searching gave up. Where did it go? I’m also wondering why some hospitals chose not to report their data, though I can think of many innocuous reasons why they might choose not to such as deadline issues, personnel, etc.
Want to learn more? Start here:
Compare Hospitals at Leapfrog Group: http://www.leapfroggroup.org/compare-hospitals
Cesarean & VBAC specific information: http://www.cesareanrates.org
My Birth Matters by CMQCC: https://www.cmqcc.org/my-birth-matters
Do any of these numbers surprise you? Will this information influence your choice of birth location? Have you asked your provider anything about their statistics or those of the location where they work?