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Cesarean Birth

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Compare Versions of: "Cesarean Birth"

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Table Options
Measure Information 2025 Reporting Period
Title Cesarean Birth
CMS eCQM ID CMS334v6
Short Name

PC-02

CBE ID* 0471e
Measure Steward The Joint Commission
Description

Nulliparous women with a term, singleton baby in a vertex position delivered by cesarean birth

Measure Scoring Proportion measure
Measure Type Outcome
Stratification

None

Risk Adjustment

None

Rationale

The removal of any pressure to not perform a cesarean birth has led to a skyrocketing of hospital, state and national cesarean birth (CB) rates. Some hospitals’ CB rates were over 50%. Hospitals with CB rates at 15-20% have infant outcomes that are just as good and better maternal...

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Clinical Recommendation Statement

The ACOG report, Evaluation of Cesarean Delivery (2000), recognizes the importance of the Nulliparous, Term Singleton Vertex (NTSV) population as the optimal focus for measurement and quality improvement action. A reduction in the number of nulliparous patients with live term singleton...

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Improvement Notation

Within Optimal Range. The Joint Commission does not want to encourage inappropriately low Cesarean rates that may be unsafe to patients. Acceptable PC-02 rates are 30% or lower (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, n.d.), however there is not an established threshold for what...

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Definition

Parity: The number of pregnancies reaching 20 weeks gestation regardless of the number of fetuses or outcomes

Gravidity: The number of pregnancies, current and past, regardless of the pregnancy outcome

Preterm Birth: The number of births >= 20 weeks and < 37 weeks gestation, regardless of...

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Guidance

Vertex position is modeled implicitly, as the measure excludes deliveries with abnormal presentations.

Patients who do not receive prenatal care and have no documented gestational age or estimated due date are implicitly excluded from the measure, as gestational age is required to meet...

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Initial Population

Inpatient hospitalizations for patients age >= 8 years and < 65 admitted to the hospital for inpatient acute care who undergo a delivery procedure with a discharge date that ends during the measurement period

Denominator

Inpatient hospitalizations for nulliparous patients who delivered a live term singleton newborn >= 37 weeks' gestation

See Guidance and Definition Sections for more details.

Denominator Exclusions

Inpatient hospitalizations for patients with any of the following conditions during the encounter:

- abnormal presentation

- genital herpes

- placenta previa

- vasa previa

- placenta accreta spectrum

Numerator

Inpatient hospitalizations for patients who deliver by cesarean section

Numerator Exclusions

Not Applicable

Denominator Exceptions

None

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Last Updated: May 06, 2025