TIME is On Our Side

Check out the article in Time Magazine!
... and be sure to read the "story behind the story" at The Huffington Post

Does this effect women in WNY? Yes it does!

According to the New York State Department of Health, as well as a survey taken by ICAN volunteers says that women in Niagara and OrleansCounties show that three out of the four hospitals with maternity units do NOT offer VBAC as an option for their mothers. These three hospitals are Niagara Falls Memorial, Medina Memorial and Inter-Community Hospital in Newfane. One other hospital, Mount St. Mary's in Lewiston does claim to offer VBAC as an option, but only 3.4% of women who've had a previous c-section are having them there. These hospitals only handled a total of 1,000 births in 2007, but of that, but it means around 160 women may have been sectioned unnecessarily, subjecting them to unnecessary risk.

What about the women of Erie County? While there are no bans at Women and Children's hospital, Millard Fillmore Suburban, Sisters or Mercy hospital, the rates of women who are having VBACs is on the decline from an overall percentage of 12% in 2006 to 9% in 2007. The most disturbing is Mercy, who is according to the DOH site has a 5.6% VBAC rate, but none of our hospitals are performing up to par.

Cesarean rates at all of these hospitals are high, though this year some have shown minor declines. Overall in Erie county, about 34% percent of women will have the surgery that Consumer Reports has listed as one of the top surgeries you're better off without, and this is up from 33.4% from 2006.

Is this because women are asking for cesareans? Or, could it be that women aren't being well-informed of their choices? Women don't want to talk about the risks because it is too "scary", but we need to start facing what the real possibilities are before making such important decisions.

History of Midwives

The fear of copyright infringement precludes me from publishing this article in it's entirity. If you choose to follow just one link from this blog ever, this is a really good one to choose. Some highlights:

History of midwives
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
01/19/2008

In the 1930s, maternal mortality rates began to decline in hospitals in the U.S. thanks to the use of more sterile surgical conditions and techniques. Medical advances in antibiotics and blood transfusions accelerated declines. Around this time, medical doctors began campaigning against midwives in the media, courts and legislature. They cited poor outcomes, though some research suggests they were ridding their competition.

Technologically intensive childbirth, however, has become the norm. The rate of labor induction has doubled since 1990, which studies show increases the chances of having a Cesarean section. The C-section rate has jumped within the past 10 years to over 30 percent, the highest ever. The major abdominal surgery involves risk to the mother and also increases risk of complications in subsequent pregnancies.

A comprehensive survey of women’s childbearing experiences released last year shows most mothers experienced each of the following during labor and delivery — continuous electronic fetal monitoring, one or more vaginal exams, intravenous fluids, epidural or spinal analgesia and a catheter. Most had little understanding of the side effects of these interventions. The survey also showed that many received interventions, such as episiotomies, without their consent.

National health statistics show that while over 4 million women give birth a year, obstetric procedures number nearly 7 million.

Today, more than 7,000 nurse midwives practice in all 50 states and attend almost 10 percent of all births, mostly in hospitals.

But natural birth advocates decry the loss of non-nurse midwives. As a result, they say women have lost the knowledge and confidence in giving birth. Advocates are pushing for the legalization of non-nurse midwives with specific training in home births. These "direct-entry" midwives learn midwifery through apprenticeship or a midwifery school that is distinct from nursing.

Cesareans: Twice the Risk

Excerpt from:
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_56908.html
Reuters Health

Wednesday, October 31, 2007

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Compared with vaginal deliveries, cesarean deliveries have twice the risk of complications and deaths of both infants and mothers when the fetus is in the normal, head-down position, according to findings from a study conducted in Latin America.

However, if the fetus is turned around - in the breech position - the benefits of cesarean delivery outweigh the risks, Dr. Jose Villar, at the University of Oxford in the UK, and associates report in BMJ Online First.

[For what it's worth, and without having taken a look at this study yet but having read another study regarding the safety of breech births, I wonder how many of the deliveries had care providers who were trained in breech births? There is a technique to this, but many OBs are no longer trained in how to handle this, which may segregate the "safe" breech births from the "risky" ones...]

The rising rates of cesarean deliveries in recent years are not explained by any clear benefits to the baby or mother, the authors note. "There is therefore an urgent need to provide women and care providers with information on the potential individual risks and benefits associated with cesarean delivery."


SOURCE: BMJ Online First, October 31, 2007.


Reuters Health

The Mommy Uprising

The Mommy Uprising
Click here to read entire article: http://www.bostonmagazine.com/articles/the_mommy_uprising

They’re fed up with the unwanted C-sections, the endless tests, the dubious interventions, and the scary advice from overworked, malpractice-spooked doctors. And Boston women are shunning the area’s world-class hospitals to go to surprising lengths—and sometimes take big risks—to give birth on their own terms.

By Tina Cassidy, a former staff reporter and editor at the Boston Globe, is the author of Birth: The Surprising History of How We Are Born (Atlantic Monthly Press, $24). She has given birth once, by cesarean, to her son, George.
Originally published in Boston Magazine, December 2006.