Life cycle assessment of medical procedures: Vaginal and cesarean section births

Abstract

Despite being a heavily regulated industry and one in which patient safety and wellbeing trumps many other concerns, healthcare's environmental impacts can be improved. Using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to quantify the environmental impacts associated with cesarean section and vaginal births at a US hospital, this study identifies aspects of birthing procedures upon which hospitals should focus to maximize efforts related to sustainability. This case study hospital, which delivers about 10,000 babies a year, emits about 227,000 kg of CO 2 equivalents annually from birth procedures alone. Results show that for both cesarean section and vaginal births, impacts related to the production and disposal of single-use items, as well as the impacts related to the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning contribute the most to the impact categories analyzed.