National Maternity Report Shows Washington Matches National Average For C-Section Rate
The Leapfrog Group, an independent national nonprofit calling for better and safer patient care led locally by the Washington Health Alliance, Tuesday 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—data not available from any other source.
The 2025 Leapfrog Maternity Care Report reveals that while Nulliparous, Term, Singleton, Vertex (NTSV) C-section rates remain high at 25.3% nationally. In Washington state, the average rate, drawn from 32 hospitals statewide, was marginally higher at 25.76%.
In line with national trends, the report also showed that a vast majority of Washington state hospitals offered evidence-based maternity care services:
- 96.88% of hospitals offer lactation consultants
- 93.75% of hospitals allow doulas in labor and delivery
- 87.5% of hospitals allow vaginal birth after a C-section (VBAC)
- 96.88% of hospitals offer postpartum tubal ligation
- 87.5% of hospitals offer certified midwives in labor and delivery
More information on these trends, including state C-section rates and availability of the above maternity services by state, are available on the report webpage.