Long Island hospitals vary greatly in the rate of C-sections for women considered at low risk from a vaginal birth. Although the procedure is sometimes necessary to protect the health of the mother and baby, government agencies and medical organizations support efforts to reduce cesarean rates because the surgery increases the possibility of infections, blood clots and other health problems.

By David Olson david.olson@newsday.com @DavidOlson11

David Olson covers health care. He has worked at Newsday since 2015 and previously covered immigration, multicultural issues and religion at The Press-Enterprise in Southern California.

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