Gotbaum Seeks To Make Cesarean Rates Public

The public advocate, Betsy Gotbaum, is asking the city's health department to publicize cesarean section rates at New York City hospitals on its Web site.

In a letter Ms. Gotbaum sent yesterday to the city's commissioner of health, Dr. Thomas Frieden, she acknowledged the agency's previous reluctance to display maternity information on its site. But she urged Dr. Frieden to establish a link to the Web site of the state Department of Health, which began posting cesarean section rates online earlier this year.

"These changes will allow expectant mothers to more easily obtain the information they need to make informed choices about their birthing options," she wrote.