Hopefully there are all kinds of reasons why you would want to join our practice. Here is a big one. Our cesarean section rate continues to be one of the lowest in the nation.
The Leapfrog Group tracks quality outcome measures in hospitals across the county. They just released their most recent review of Maternity Care. In it they report the cesarean section rate for first time moms at term with a single head down baby (NSVT). They report data on WakeMed Raleigh, Rex and WakeMed Cary. (They don’t report data on WakeMed North.)
| WakeMed Raleigh | Rex | WakeMed Cary | |
| C-section Rate | 14.7% | 31.5% | 31.2% |
| Episiotomy Rate | 0.9% | 3.6% | 6.6% |
I don’t need to elaborate on these numbers. They speak for themselves.
The only practices that deliver at WakeMed Raleigh are ours and the teaching service. I think one of the differences is the excellent team of healthcare professionals that we work with. Our nurses are great. The clinical leadership is great. Our WakeMed Private Physician OBGYN colleagues and anesthesia are great.
This creates a culture of caring and professionalism that is able to produce these kinds of outstanding outcomes. That is the outcome that you want with your pregnancy and we look forward to helping you with it. No other hospital in the state can make this claim.
Here is a list of the lowest cesarean rates in the country as reported by Consumer Reports in 2017. These hospitals also delivered at least 3,500 babies or had at least 750 low-risk births in 2015 or the nine months ending September 2015 or June 2016.
1. Crouse Hospital (Syracuse, N.Y.) — 7 percent
2. SSM St. Mary’s Health Center (St. Louis) — 12 percent
3. Memorial Medical Center (Springfield, Ill.) — 12 percent
4. Lovelace Women’s Hospital (Albuquerque, N.M.) — 13 percent
5. Bakersfield (Calif.) Memorial Hospital — 13 percent
6. Utah Valley Regional Medical Center (Provo, Utah) — 14 percent
7. WakeMed Raleigh Campus (Raleigh, N.C.) — 15 percent
8. Intermountain Medical Center (Murray, Utah) — 16 percent
9. Desert Regional Medical Center (Palm Springs, Calif.) — 16 percent
10. North Shore University Health System (Evanston, Ill.) — 17 percent
Year after year we fortunately have the same result. Last month our practice c-section rate was 12%. All this in a hospital environment that has the “deepest bench” for babies and moms alike.
You hopefully won’t need the sophistication of these extra services, but they are there, and that is why we have been at “Big Wake” all these years. Hope to see you soon!
Michael Smith, MD
