Patient satisfaction with the prenatal care provider and the risk of cesarean delivery

Objectives This study was undertaken to assess the relationship between patient satisfaction with the prenatal care provider and a gravid womanʹs risk of cesarean delivery. Study design Medical records of 586 consecutive deliveries in a single obstetrics department were reviewed. The delivery mode was correlated to the providersʹ overall patient satisfaction score as measured by an ongoing mail survey. Mann-Whitney U tests and 2-tailed t tests were used. Results On the basis of the prenatal provider, not the delivering physician, the cesarean section delivery rates fell into 3 groups: low rate, average rate, and high rate. There is a significant difference in both the cesarean delivery rate and the patient satisfaction survey scores between the prenatal providers in the high- and low-rate groups. Conclusion Higher patient satisfaction scores is correlated with a lower cesarean delivery rate.