The Leapfrog Group, an independent national nonprofit calling for better and safer patient care, today released its 2025 Maternity Care Report. The report provides a comprehensive analysis of unique national data from hospitals representing 80% of inpatient beds in the United States. Leapfrog reports on key aspects of maternity care, including C-sections, episiotomies and early elective deliveries, as well as the availability of patient-requested services such as doula support, certified midwives and more. As the only organization that publicly reports this vital data by individual hospital nationwide, Leapfrog's latest findings highlight key national and state-level trends in maternity care. The 2025 Leapfrog Maternity Care Report reveals that while Nulliparous, Term, Singleton, Vertex (NTSV) C-section rates remain high at 25.3% nationally, episiotomy rates have dropped significantly, declining by 73% since Leapfrog began reporting on this measure in 2012. Today, episiotomy rates average 3.4%. For the first time, the analysis includes hospital-reported disparities in C-section rates by race and ethnicity, finding that one in five hospitals report disparities between non-Hispanic Black and non-Hispanic White patients. "We applaud the hospitals that voluntarily make this data available to the public through Leapfrog. Transparency takes courage, and it is the critical first step on the path to real change," said Leah Binder, Leapfrog President & CEO. "We congratulate hospitals on reducing episiotomy rates, which has made a difference for thousands of women and babies. However, we urge renewed efforts to lower C-section rates and continue improving maternity care for all patients." Other findings include: States with the highest NTSV C-section rates are Mississippi (28.9%), New York (28.3%) and Massachusetts (27.8%). States with the lowest NTSV C-section rates are Nebraska (18.8%), Utah (19.7%) and Idaho (20%). Most hospitals (85.9%) have policies in place to prevent early elective deliveries. The majority of hospitals provide evidence-based maternity care services including: 96.1% of hospitals offer lactation consultants 89.7% of hospitals allow doulas in labor and delivery 84.1% of hospitals allow vaginal birth after a C-section (VBAC) 81.6% of hospitals offer postpartum tubal ligation 61% of hospitals offer certified midwives in labor and delivery

C-Section Rates Hold Steady, While Episiotomy Rates Drop in New National Maternity Care Report from The Leapfrog Group

The Leapfrog Group released its 2025 Maternity Care Report, providing insights into national trends in maternity care, including C-section rates and episiotomy rates. The report highlights significant reductions in episiotomy rates and disparities in C-section rates by race and ethnicity. Key findings include a national C-section rate of 25.3%, with episiotomy rates dropping by 73% since 2012 to an average of 3.4%. The report also identifies states with the highest and lowest C-section rates, and hospitals that offer various evidence-based services.