Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 2, 2026

External Cephalic Version: Is it an Effective and Safe Procedure?
Published on: June 6, 2020
The use of quality control performance charts to analyze cesarean delivery rates nationally
1University College Dublin Centre for Human Reproduction, Coombe Women and Infants University Hospital, Dublin, Ireland. michael.turner@ucd.ie
Objective:
To examine the use of quality control performance charts to analyze cesarean rates nationally.
Methods:
Information on cesarean rates was obtained for all 19 Irish maternity hospitals receiving state funding in 2009. All women who underwent cesarean delivery of a live or stillborn infant weighing 500 g or more between January 1 and December 31 were included. Deliveries were classified as elective or emergency. Individual hospitals were not identified in the analysis.
Results:
The mean rates per hospital of elective and emergency cesarean were 12.9±2.6% (n=9337) and 13.8±3.0% (n=9989), respectively-giving an overall mean rate of 26.7±4.2% (n=19326) per hospital. Cesarean rates were normally distributed. Using a quality control performance chart with a cutoff 2 standard deviations from the mean, 1 hospital was above the normal range for both total and elective cesareans, indicating that its pre-labor obstetric practices warrant clinical review. Another hospital had a mean emergency cesarean rate above the normal range, indicating that its labor ward practices warrant review.
Conclusion:
Quality control performance charts can be used to analyze cesarean rates nationally and, thus, to identify hospitals at which obstetric practices should be reviewed.
Related Concept Videos
Quality Control
Quality control helps track data, visualize trends, and identify variations, making it easier to detect deviations that may affect the accuracy of an analysis. One way to do this is by generating a quality control chart, which...
Introduction to Statistical Process Control
Interpreting Run Charts
The X̄ Chart
The x̄ chart, often known as the individual control chart, is a crucial tool in statistical process control. It is designed to monitor process behavior and performance over time and is widely used in various industries to ensure that processes are operating at their optimum capacity and within specified limits.
A x̄ chart is constructed by plotting individual measurements of a quality characteristic in the order in which...
The R Chart
R charts are pivotal for pinpointing shifts in process variability. Stability is indicated when all data points remain within the defined upper and lower...
Run Charts