C-Sections Up at For-Profit Hospitals

Los Angeles - Having a baby? The hospital you choose to deliver at could impact your chances of getting a C-section. A California watch analysis of state birth records reveals women who deliver at for-profit hospitals are on average 17% more likely to undergo a C-section than those who deliver at non-profit hospitals.

Some of the differences were startling. At the non-profit Kaiser Redwood City for example the Cesarean rate for low risk women was 9%.

At the for-profit Los Angeles Community Hospital the C-section rate was 47%. That hospital did not return our call for comment.

What difference does it make whether you have a C-section?

Chelsea Shure is a Doula, a non-medical professional who helps women get through pregnancy and childbirth. She is also president of the L.A. Chapter of the International Cesarean Awareness Network.

Dr. Jordan Harris is an OB/GYN in private practice who delivers babies at Cedars Sinai Medical Center. She is also a member of the Hospital's Bioethics Committee.

Both Shure and Dr. Harris joined us live in the FOX 11 Newsroom on Wednesday for a discussion on C-sections. Watch the discussion in this video report.