In this May 2018 report based on findings from the 2017 Leapfrog Hospital Survey, the Leapfrog Group and Castlight Health reported no improvement in reducing the rate of Caesarean sections. The report showed that the average rate of episiotomies (an incision made in the perineum or birth canal during childbirth) declined from 9.6 percent in 2016 to 7.8 percent in 2017, the lowest rate since Leapfrog began collecting and publicly reporting these data. Also, the use of these usually unnecessary incisions remains well above Leapfrog’s standard, determined by its Maternity Care Expert Panel, of 5 percent or less, the report said.
