What Is the Safest Population-Level Cesarean Delivery Rate? A National Cohort Study Using Natural Variation

( BJOG 2025;132:1781–1788. doi:10.1111/1471-0528.18301) A national cohort study explored the safest population-level rate of cesarean delivery (CD) by analyzing natural variations across municipalities in Norway, a country with universal access to high-quality health care. For decades, a CD rate of 10% to 15% has been considered optimal by the WHO, though this recommendation has been supported by limited empirical evidence. Using extensive registry data, this study aimed to assess how differing local CD rates relate to maternal and neonatal outcomes.