And that's positive news, according to the lead author of the study by researchers from the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences.
"This is a good news story," said Arlene Bierman, lead author of the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences study.
Although no ideal rate has been pinpointed for C-sections, the sense of researchers is too many are performed in Ontario.
"What we do know is, it is better for women not to have one if it is not necessary. The best thing is a healthy vaginal delivery if it is possible from the vantage point of the mom and the baby," Bierman said.
"It is not that interventions are bad. They are good when they are necessary. You want to minimize them when they are not necessary," she said.
One category where interventions are less likely to be necessary is among women who are full term with the baby in the head down presentation.
The caesarean section rate for those births was 17% in the London health region, while the Ontario average was 23% and in some areas 26%.
Other differences the researchers found included:
- Repeat C-section rates were 72% in the London region, compared to 84% for the province
- 2% of vaginal births in the London region were vacuum assisted, compared to 10% in Toronto
- The episiotomy rate was 12% in the London region compared to 20% across the province Multiple factors contribute to the difference between health regions, including the practice styles of physicians and patient preferences, Bierman said.
Overall, the researchers found rates of adverse outcomes - severe maternal morbidity and birth trauma to newborns - were low. That is evidence Ontario is a very safe place for women to give birth and for babies to be born, they concluded.