Good News for Expecting Parents

New York, NY —

Prospective parents around the city have had better access to information about childbirth from local hospitals.

In a new report by Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum, 39 out of 44 hospitals have printed and circulated brochures about their C-section rates, among other statistics. New York requires hospitals to do this, but an earlier study by Gotbaum's office suggested that relatively few did.

Gotbaum and most maternal health advocates believe hospitals perform too many C-sections. City-wide, however, the rate is within a few points of the national average - about 30%.