C-Sections in the RGV

Pregnancy can be a beautiful time of anticipation and planning or fear and worry. One of the most common fears I’ve heard from expecting mothers is fear of having a cesarean. For Rio Grande Valley moms, this is a legitimate concern since Texas has one of the highest cesarean rates in the United States.

In 2018, almost 30% of all low-risk pregnancies in Texas ended in a cesarean.¹ This number doesn’t include planned c-sections or pregnancies that are considered high risk, such as those that involve a previous cesarean, a breech baby, premature birth, diabetes, hypertension, or other chronic diseases. If we include all pregnancies, then the cesarean rate for Texas in 2018 was 35%.²

In order to help put expectant mothers at ease, I’ve compiled data from the hospitals in the Rio Grande Valley and surrounding areas. The table below shows the cesarean rates of the nearby hospitals. If any hospital is missing, that is because less than 30 cesareans took place.

Based on the information above, the top five hospitals for avoiding a cesarean (in order from best to worst) are:

1. Knapp Medical Center

2. CHRISTUS Spohn Hospital - Alice

3. CHRISTUS Spohn Hospital - Kleberg

4. Harlingen Medical Center

5. Edinburg Regional Medical Center

If I were an expectant mom planning a hospital birth without a cesarean, I’d plan to use one of these five hospitals listed above. Similarly, I’d avoid the hospitals with the highest cesarean rates. The worst five hospitals (based on high cesarean rates) are:

1. Valley Regional Medical Center

2. Doctors Hospital - Laredo

3. Laredo Medical Center

4. Valley Baptist Medical Center - Brownsville

5. Mission Regional Medical Center

It's not just a matter of choosing a hospital. Cesarean rates vary by doctors, too. When you are looking for an obstetrician or a midwife, you should ask about their cesarean rates as well.

One last thing to keep in mind is that only 9% of women have VBACs.⁴ That is, over 90% of women who’ve had a cesarean end up having a repeat cesarean. This may be mostly due to the idea of “once a cesarean, always a cesarean,” which is not evidence-based.⁵ Therefore, in order to avoid cesareans altogether, finding a hospital and doctor with a low cesarean rate the first time around is critical.

Recommended Reading:

Your Biggest C-Section Risk May be Your Hospital - Consumer Reports

Choosing Your Birth Provider in the Rio Grande Valley - Sojourning Birth

What You Need to Know about VBACs in the Valley - RGVision

C-Section Archives - Evidence Based Birth