Cesarean section rates vary widely across the San Francisco Bay Area, with hospitals reporting rates ranging from 16.5% to over 30%. Understanding cesarean rates is crucial for expectant parents when choosing where to give birth. The difference between 16.5% and 30% already seems like a big difference, but let’s consider a group of 1000 birthing people: 165 of those folks would have had a cesarean section if they went to Hospital A or 300 if they’d gone to Hospital B where the rate is higher. If we consider that roughly 6,900 babies are born in San Francisco each year (as of 2024), that difference would amount to 932 additional cesarean births in this one city alone!
We know cesarean births are sometimes medically necessary. According to global estimates cited by the World Health Organization, cesarean birth rates vary dramatically around the world, from approximately 8% in the least developed countries, where access to lifesaving surgical birth is often limited, to approximately 27% in the most developed countries, where concerns increasingly center on overuse. 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 midwives and obstetricians are trained within different models of care. Midwifery education emphasizes physiologic birth, continuity of care, and minimizing unnecessary interventions, while obstetric training includes the management of both normal birth and high-risk conditions requiring medical and surgical treatment.
Furthermore, midwives do not perform cesarean births and therefore have no financial incentive tied to whether a client gives birth vaginally or by cesarean. While it would be overly simplistic to attribute differences in cesarean rates solely to reimbursement structures, it is worth noting that some of the lowest rates in this dataset are found in public hospitals and integrated health systems, where providers are generally salaried rather than reimbursed on a fee-for-service basis.
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 2024 through June 2025.
Below are the latest cesarean rates for Bay Area hospitals, compared to the California state average of 24.9%:
Hospitals with the Lowest Cesarean Rates
- Kaiser Permanente San Leandro – 16.5%**
- Marin Health Medical Center (Greenbrae) – 20.2%
- Kaiser Permanente Redwood City – 20.2%**
Hospitals Below the State Average
- Highland Hospital (Oakland) – 21.2%**
- Kaiser Permanente San Francisco – 21.4%**
- Kaiser Permanente Oakland – 22.2%**
- San Francisco General Hospital – 23%**
- Kaiser Permanente Walnut Creek – 23.4%**
- John Muir Medical Center (Walnut Creek) – 23.4%
- UCSF (San Francisco) – 23.6%
Hospitals Near or Above the State Average
- Alta Bates (Berkeley) – 24.6%
- CPMC Van Ness (San Francisco) – 25.3%*
- Mills-Peninsula – 27.1%
- Sequoia Hospital – 27.2% (substantially higher episiotomy rate of 15.3%, compared to other local facilities and the state average of 2.5%)
- Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford (Palo Alto) – 30%
Notes:
* CPMC Van Ness hosts several independent physician and midwifery groups whose approaches to labor management may differ substantially. Hospital-level cesarean rates do not capture these differences, so families may wish to ask prospective providers about their own cesarean rates, induction practices, and philosophy of labor support.
**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 will continue 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.
