One of the most consequential decisions you'll make in your pregnancy happens before you're even in labor: which hospital you choose to give birth in. Two hospitals ten minutes apart can have wildly different cultures around cesarean rates, VBAC support, and midwifery-led care, and most parents never see those differences until they're already in a gown.
Every year, I put together this report so my clients can compare Bay Area hospitals side by side, using the same publicly reported, independently audited data that hospitals themselves are held to. This year's numbers come from the California Maternal Quality Care Collaborative (CMQCC) via Cal Hospital Compare, reflecting the July 2024–June 2025 reporting period, the most current data available.
This isn't a ranking. It's context. The "best" hospital for you depends on your risk profile, your provider, your insurance, and what you want your birth to feel like. But if a low-intervention, natural birth is your goal, these numbers tell you a lot about what to expect walking in the door.
What the Numbers Actually Mean
- NTSV Cesarean Rate: the c-section rate among first-time mothers carrying a single, head-down baby at full term. This is the standard measure for comparing hospitals, since it isolates a low-risk group. The state target is 23.6% or lower.
- VBAC Rate: how often people who've had a prior cesarean go on to have a vaginal birth at that hospital. A higher rate usually signals a hospital and provider culture that genuinely supports VBAC, not just permits it on paper.
- Episiotomy Rate: how often a surgical cut is made to the vaginal opening during birth. Lower is better; this is no longer considered routine best practice.
- CNM-Attended Deliveries: the percentage of births attended by a Certified Nurse-Midwife rather than solely an OB. Higher rates often correlate with a more collaborative, less interventionist birth culture.
- Baby-Friendly Designation: a hospital-wide commitment, measured against WHO/UNICEF standards, to evidence-based practices supporting breastfeeding and early bonding.
You'll also see labels like Superior, Above Average, or Below Average next to some numbers below. These come directly from Cal Hospital Compare's own scoring, which rates a hospital's performance on that specific measure against how hospitals perform statewide, not just against the raw average number. A "Superior" rating means a hospital performs meaningfully better than most hospitals in California on that measure, not just slightly above the average.
Kaiser Permanente Hospitals
If you're a Kaiser Permanente member, your hospital options are set by your plan, so these are grouped separately from the rest of the Bay Area comparison below.
| Hospital | NTSV C-Section | Episiotomy | VBAC Rate | CNM-Attended | Baby-Friendly |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kaiser Permanente Redwood City | 19.1% (Superior) | 0.9% | 37.1% (Superior) | 62.2% | No |
| Kaiser Permanente San Leandro | 18.5% (Superior) | 0.7% | 30.6% | 51.5% | No |
| Kaiser Permanente Santa Rosa | 25.1% | 0.4% | 26.7% | 48.2% | No |
| Kaiser Permanente Walnut Creek | 25.2% | 0.7% | 26.9% | 49.5% | No |
| Kaiser Permanente Oakland | 23.6% | 0.5% | 26.4% | 45.3% | No |
| Kaiser Permanente San Francisco | 22.6% | 0.9% | 27.8% | 0% | No |
2026 Bay Area Comparison
| Hospital | NTSV C-Section | Episiotomy | VBAC Rate | CNM-Attended | Baby-Friendly |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zuckerberg SF General | 24.4% | 0.5% | 41.4% (Superior) | 44.1% | Yes |
| MarinHealth Medical Center | 21.9% | 0.8% | 35.7% (Superior) | 46.9% | Yes |
| Alta Bates Summit, Alta Bates Campus | 22.2% | 0.7% | 37.2% (Superior) | 44.3% | No |
| El Camino Hospital, Los Gatos | 20.5% | 3.5% | 24.0% | 31.5% | Yes |
| John Muir Medical Center, Walnut Creek | 21.8% | 1.9% | 18.5% | 13.3% | Yes |
| CPMC, Van Ness Campus | 24.5% | 2.9% | 18.2% | 12.5% | Yes |
| Lucile Packard Children's Hospital, Stanford | 27.9% | 0.8% | 16.3% | 0.7% | Yes |
| El Camino Hospital, Mountain View | 28.0% | 2.6% | 10.8% | 0% | No |
| UCSF Medical Center, Moffitt/Long | Not rated this period | Not rated | Not rated | 0% | No |
| California State Average | 24.9% | 2.3% | 19.3% | 14% | Not applicable |
Source: Cal Hospital Compare / CMQCC Maternal Data Center, reporting period 07/01/2024–06/30/2025. Data current as of report publication; confirm details directly with your hospital, as policies and staffing can change.
North Bay
MarinHealth Medical Center is the standout for North Bay families: a Superior VBAC rate, a CNM-attended delivery rate more than three times the state average, and full Baby-Friendly designation.
Kaiser Permanente Santa Rosa shows solid, above-average numbers on episiotomy and VBAC, with a strong CNM-attended rate as well.
Peninsula / South Bay
Kaiser Permanente Redwood City posts the strongest combined profile of any hospital on this list. Its NTSV c-section rate and VBAC rate both earn a Superior rating, and its CNM-attended delivery rate is more than four times the state average.
El Camino Hospital, Los Gatos also performs well, with a low c-section rate and both Maternity Care and Patient Safety Honor Roll designations. Its Mountain View campus, despite sharing a health system, shows a markedly different profile, worth a direct conversation with your OB about which campus they deliver at.
Lucile Packard Children's Hospital, Stanford shows a below-average c-section rate and very low midwife involvement, likely reflecting its role as a high-risk referral and NICU-heavy academic center rather than a typical community birth experience.
San Francisco
Zuckerberg San Francisco General has the highest VBAC rate of any hospital on this list, a strong CNM-attended rate, and Baby-Friendly designation, a genuinely strong option that's sometimes overlooked.
Kaiser Permanente San Francisco posts solid, average-range numbers, though its CNM-attended rate reads as 0%, worth asking directly about midwifery availability there.
CPMC, Van Ness Campus and UCSF Medical Center, Moffitt/Long round out the SF options. CPMC's numbers sit close to the state average. UCSF doesn't have rated data for this reporting period; this doesn't necessarily reflect quality of care, since UCSF is a major academic referral center with a high-risk patient population that can affect how these measures are calculated.
East Bay
Alta Bates Summit (Alta Bates Campus) and Kaiser Permanente San Leandro both show excellent VBAC and CNM numbers, with San Leandro's c-section rate among the best on this list.
Kaiser Permanente Oakland and Kaiser Permanente Walnut Creek post solid, consistent, above-average-to-average numbers across the board.
John Muir Medical Center, Walnut Creek is Baby-Friendly designated with a good c-section rate, though its CNM-attended and VBAC rates run closer to the state average than some East Bay peers.
A Note on This Report
This report is modeled on the tradition of annual maternity transparency reporting pioneered by organizations like the Leapfrog Group and CMQCC, a practice that's been building trust with expectant parents for over a decade. I update these numbers once a year, when CMQCC's data refreshes, so you're always looking at current, verified figures rather than a live feed that could be stale or miscontextualized.
These numbers are a starting point for a conversation, with your OB, your midwife, and with me, not a substitute for one. If you'd like help thinking through what these numbers mean for your specific pregnancy and birth goals, let's talk.
This post is for educational purposes only and reflects publicly reported data current as of publication. Hospital policies, staffing, and outcomes can change; confirm details directly with your hospital and care provider.