For example, among women giving birth for the first time, there was a two-fold difference between hospitals with the highest and lowest rates of induction of labour (17% compared to 38%), emergency caesarean section after induction of labour (20% to 40%) and instrumental delivery (16% to 32%).
However, what alarmed me the most was the realisation that much of what women are told about the risks of medical interventions during labour - things like induction, epidural anaesthesia and undergoing a c-section - are overblown.