Cesarean section rates vary widely across the San Francisco Bay Area, with hospitals reporting rates ranging from 17% to over 25%. Understanding cesarean rates is crucial for expectant parents when choosing where to give birth. The difference between 17% and 25% may not seem like a big difference, but let’s consider a group of 100 birthing people: 17 of those folks would have had a cesarean section if they went to Hospital A or 25 if they’d gone to Hospital B where the rate is higher. If we consider that roughly 7,500 babies are born in San Francisco each year (as of 2021), that difference would amount to 600 additional cesarean births in this one city alone!
Please don’t get me wrong. Cesarean births are sometimes medically necessary. According to the World Health Organization, in the least developed countries in the world, the cesarean rate is about 8% and in the most developed countries, the rate is about 27%. It is very likely birthing people and babies in the least developed countries die unnecessarily because of their inability to access cesarean birth in time. However, the opposite is undoubtedly true as well: some birthing people are having cesarean births because of factors that have nothing to do with health and safety. It is important to remember that cesarean sections are major abdominal surgeries that carry real risks and discomforts.
Midwifery practices generally boast lower cesarean rates compared to hospital-based care. Statistics show that midwifery-led care results in a 30% reduced risk of cesarean births among first-time birthing people and a 40% reduced risk among people having a second baby or beyond. This makes sense, as our training focuses on holistic, individualized care that prioritizes informed decision-making and supports individuals in ways that are oriented towards utilizing fewer interventions. OBGYNs, on the other hand, spend about three-quarters of their education learning surgical procedures, such as cesarean birth.
To help parents consider childbirth options in the San Francisco Bay Area, we’ve taken the most recent data about our local hospitals’ cesarean rates and organized them below. If you’re reading this in other areas in California, you can research your local hospitals at CalHospitalCompare.org.
Cesarean Birth Rates by Hospital in the San Francisco Bay Area
This data was collected from CalHospitalCompare.org and reflects births from July 2023 – June 2024.
Below are the latest cesarean rates for Bay Area hospitals, compared to the California state average of 25.1%:
Hospitals with the Lowest Cesarean Rates
- San Francisco General Hospital – 17.6%
- Kaiser Permanente San Leandro – 18.4%**
- Marin Health Medical Center (Greenbrae) – 19.7%
- Kaiser Permanente Redwood City – 19.9%**
Hospitals Below the State Average
- Alta Bates (Berkeley) – 22%
- Highland Hospital (Oakland) – 22.7%
- Kaiser Permanente San Francisco – 23%**
- Kaiser Permanente Oakland – 23.6%**
- John Muir Medical Center (Walnut Creek) – 24.2%
- CPMC Van Ness (San Francisco) – 24.5%*
Hospitals Near or Above the State Average
- Mills-Peninsula – 25.2%
- UCSF (San Francisco) – 25.5%
- Kaiser Permanente Walnut Creek – 25.9%**
- Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford (Palo Alto) – 25.7%
Notes:
*CPMC Van Ness is home to two birthing teams. The CPMC-Mission Bernal team is staffed largely by midwives and the Sutter Foundation team (which is the collection of smaller private OBGYN practices and Sutter providers) is staffed largely by OBGYNs. The two teams have different approaches to labor and birth care. However, the latest statistics seem to lump these two practices together. Unfortunately, the cesarean rate data is not available for each team separately. If you are considering birth at the CPMC Van Ness Campus, keep in mind the different teams and their approaches.
**Not open to all insurance types. Kaiser Permanente is open to Kaiser members, while Highland Hospital and San Francisco General Hospital are intended for Medi-Cal/uninsured populations.
Understanding Cesarean Rates in the Context of your care provider
For families seeking lower-intervention births, midwifery care offers an alternative to hospital-based models. Research consistently shows that midwife-led care is associated with fewer medical interventions—including cesareans—while maintaining excellent safety outcomes. Midwives emphasize individualized, holistic care and provide continuous labor support, which is strongly linked to higher rates of vaginal birth and fewer complications.
Whether you’re planning a hospital birth or exploring midwifery options, knowing cesarean rates and provider practices can help you make an informed decision. Every birthing person deserves compassionate, evidence-based care that respects their choices and prioritizes their well-being.
I hope this information on cesarean birth rates in the San Francisco Bay Area was useful as you consider your birthing options. I hope to update this information on an annual basis so that families can easily compare their choices. If you’re interested in learning more about our approach to midwifery care in San Francisco, please visit our services page or sign-up for a Meet the Midwife session. Wishing you a safe and supported journey to parenthood.
