Clinical data on maternity care at California hospitals is available on the web. But consumers might not know how to find it.
That is the idea behind a new project funded by the California Health Care Foundation.
Starting Wednesday, people can check Yelp to get clinical information and consumer ratings on all California hospitals that deliver babies.
The clinical measures include the rates of C-sections, breastfeeding and episiotomies. That data sits side by side with consumer feedback and comments.
Stephanie Teleki, the foundation’s director of evaluation, said where a woman delivers her baby can make a big difference. For example, the C-section rate in California hospitals ranges from 15 to 64 percent.
“You could use this information to inform the conversations that you’re having with your doctor, even if you don’t intend or can’t switch a doctor or a hospital," Teleki explained. "Knowing this information may lead to a lot of other useful conversations about what kind of birth you actually want.”
More than 500,000 babies, or one in eight babies born in the U.S., are born each year in California hospitals.
