C-Section rates in Columbus, Ohio 2023

Updated 3/3/2024

Why is it important to know a hospital’s c-section rate?

Knowing a hospital’s c-section rate before choosing it as your birth place has several benefits. A hospital with a high c-section rate might specialize in high risk pregnancies, and a hospital with a low c-section rate might specialize in lower intervention birth.

No matter what kind of birth you’re looking for, you’re going to want to know what their c-section rates are.

What’s a low and what’s a high
​c-section rate?

​The World Health Organization (WHO) set the ideal c-section rate at 10-15%. Many reproductive health professionals agree the ideal percentage should be closer to 5-7%. World wide, the c-section rate is currently 21% while the USA sits at 32.1% as of 2021. According to the CDC, Ohio’s c-section rate, as of 2021, is 31.5% (it's important to note that this is the percentage of live births by c-section).

With all of that in mind, the lowest c-section rate in Columbus, Ohio is 17.5% at Mount Carmel Grove City and the highest is 28.7% at Memorial Hospital in Marysville.

Keep in mind, many regional hospitals will have very low to no c-sections. This is generally due to lack of resources that larger hospitals have, and doesn’t necessarily reflect the hospital’s philosophy around birth.

One last thing before we get to the numbers

​Remember, c-sections rates are just a piece of the puzzle. Knowing that a hospital has a high or low c-section rate doesn’t tell you their induction, forceps, vacuum or epidural rates and certainly can’t predict how your own birth will go. I encourage you to talk to people who have had births like the one you desire. Listen to where they gave birth, who they chose to have there, and how they might want to do it differently next time.

C-section rates by hospital in and around Columbus, Ohio

These are the most recent numbers based off of the 2023 survay done by Leap Frog (linked below)

Mount Carmel Grove City: 13.8%
Mount Carmel East: 19.4%
Licking Memorial: 19.3%
Mount Carmel St Ann’s: 19.4%
OSU Wexner Center: 20.4%
Memorial Hospital: 21.3%
Adena Regional Medical Center: 16.9%

As of 3/3/24 All Ohio Health hospitals have refused to report their stats. These hospitals include:
Berger Hospital
Fairfield Medical Center
Dublin Methodist
Riverside
Grady Memorial
O'Bleness
Pickerington Methodist
(Ohio health has other hospitals in Ohio. The ones listed here are closest to Columbus)

Don’t see your hospital here, or want more in depth stats? Check out this link. https://ratings.leapfroggroup.org/

Homebirth

While we do not have statistics specific to Columbus or even Ohio, there was a study done in 2009 that found a 7.3% c-section rate that included one repeat c-section. While it is impossible to compare hospital and homebirth by using only statistics, it is something to consider if you are having a healthy pregnancy and would like an unmedicated birth.

If you're thinking about homebirth and are in the Columbus, Ohio area, check out our list of homebirth midwives and start your search! Each midwife can give you their personal stats. Homebirth Midwives

Feeling like you’d like a pregnancy pal? A birth buddy? A doula can be a great resource to help you prepare for the birth of your baby and for support on the big day. Explore the link below to learn more about having a doula on your side.

Doula Info