According to Reuters' report on the findings, 1.2 million Caesarean section operations are performed each year at a cost of $14.6 billion in 2003.
Despite her surprise at the results, contributing analyst Anne Elixhauser felt the commonality of Caesarean sections is a direct result of the number of births performed, "There are 4 million babies born every year. Twenty percent or more of them are done by C-section. That is a lot of babies."
The report is based on data from 38 states representing 90 percent of all hospital stays.
The report, along with the other top five inpatient hospital procedures, can be found at http://www.hcup.ahrq.gov
