Where a woman delivers her baby can make a major difference to her own health according to a new study published in Health Affairs. The major points of this study include the fact that women who delivered at low-performing hospitals suffered more than twice the rate of major complications in vaginal births. For cesarean-section deliveries, the major complication rate for women was nearly five times higher than women who have cesarean deliveries at high-performing hospitals. Sadly, the study pointed out that there is no database available for women to determine which hospitals in their area are high-performing versus low-performing. This is something that we all need to push for both politically and by demanding that hospitals voluntarily publish their complication rates. Holding hospitals accountable for poor complication rates will increase patient safety and improve our medical system.
