The variation in cesarean rate, even among low-risk women, is huge. As a low-risk woman at one of the almost 600 studied hospitals, you have between a 2 and 37 percent chance of ending up with surgery. If you thought only breech and other higher-risk mamas were the only ones who needed to shop around for care, I'm sorry to report that the National Institute of Health advises you otherwise. Or they would, if they wanted to.
If you want to avoid major surgery with its many risks and side effects, or just want to have a natural birth, where you are seems to be the biggest predictor of your success. This cannot be due to population or availability of medical technology, drugs, or staff. It's due to human error, human laziness, and fear.
Don't go to a hospital where the cesarean culture is so supported that they would almost rather (or definitely rather) you go under the knife.
Read about the study here: http://www.scienceandsensibility.org/?p=6413
