11/29/2025
How One New York Health System Cut C-section Rates Dramatically
BY Roseli Pereira Updated: 24 de November de 2025
"Rochester Hospital reduced C-section rates by using incentives and patient education. They joined a Medicaid program offering $40 million to hospitals meeting targets. Patient classes teach labor expectations and cervical ripening, promoting safer births.
Have you noticed how some hospitals manage to reduce unnecessary surgeries? The story of a New York system’s success in cutting C-section rates offers insights worth exploring—especially if you wonder about safer, less invasive birth options.
Leadership accountability and physician oversight
Leadership plays a key role in lowering C-section rates. Dr. Elizabeth Bostock led by tracking each doctor’s rates. She talked directly with doctors who had high rates to find ways to improve.
This kind of accountability helps doctors see how they can do better. It creates a culture where everyone aims to reduce unnecessary surgeries.
When leaders watch closely and speak openly, it pushes the whole team to do their best. This shows how strong leadership and clear oversight can change important health outcomes.
Adopting and empowering midwifery care
Starting in 2021, the hospital moved many low-risk mothers to midwife care. Midwives focus on natural, less invasive births, which helped reduce C-section rates.
By 2024, the midwifery team became its own department. They gained the power to make decisions independently, which sped up care and improved outcomes.This midwifery model lets skilled midwives guide mothers through labor with personal attention. It offers a calm, supportive setting that boosts success with vaginal births.
Giving midwives more control means patients get care tailored to their needs. This approach supports safer deliveries and fewer unnecessary surgeries.
Reforming surgical payment policies
In 2020, the hospital system changed how it pays doctors for deliveries. They made sure that cesarean and vaginal births got the same pay. This stopped any financial reasons to prefer C-sections.
This surgical payment reform was used in all five hospitals within the system. It helped doctors focus more on what’s best for the mother and baby, not payments.
Equal pay means fewer unnecessary operations. This makes care fairer and safer for women. It’s a smart way to improve C-section rates without cutting corners on care.
Implementing improved labor management protocols
The hospital started using a checklist in 2023 to help encourage vaginal births. This list guided staff on key steps to support mothers during labor.
Staff also got special training on how to help position babies for birth. They used a program called Spinning Babies, which teaches ways to adjust the baby’s position to make delivery easier.
Visual guides were put up in nurses’ areas to remind staff about these techniques. This hands-on support helped increase successful vaginal deliveries and lower the number of C-sections.
These labor management protocols made a big difference by giving the care team clear, practical tools to improve birth outcomes.
Incentives and patient education programs
Rochester Hospital joined a program that rewards hospitals for lowering C-section rates. This program paid $40 million to hospitals aiming for an 18% C-section target rate.
The hospital also offers patient classes to prepare moms for labor. These include what to expect during induction and how balloon placement helps with early cervical ripening.
These incentives and education programs support mothers by boosting their knowledge and motivation. This helps reduce unnecessary C-sections and promotes healthier births.
Combining financial rewards with clear patient education creates a strong push towards safer delivery methods."
https://www.idealcareinsurance.com/news/health/how-one-new-york-health-system-cut-c-section-rates-dramatically/
These Hospitals Figured Out How to Slash C-Section Rates
Financial and social incentives can nudge doctors away from the operating room. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/24/health/c-section-rate-decline-solutions.html
