Choices In Childbirth » Health Care

Illinois Cesarean Rates for 2008 – How Does Your Hospital Compare?

doula — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 16:11:16 +0000

In the past few weeks, Illinois has released its Public Health Hospital Statistics. Today the Tribune ran a brief piece on Cesareans, the reasons behind them and the rates of some of the local hospitals. You can view Julie Deardorff’s article here: Illinois Hospital C-section rates

Here is an excerpt from her article and you can plainly see how where you go to give birth can play a huge role in your outcome.

Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital in Barrington—35 percent (1,724 births 601 C-sections)

Advocate Medical Center in Oak Lawn—35 percent (4,233 births 1520 C-sections)

Resurrection Saint Joseph Hospital, Chicago—34 percent (1895 births 647 C-sections)

Advocate Condell Medical Center Libertyville, 30 percent (545 births 165 C-sections)

University of Chicago Medical Center, 29 percent (2,013 births 585 C-sections)

Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center, Chicago, 29 percent (2,931 births 866 C-sections)

Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Chicago, 28 percent (11,958 births 3,418 C-sections)

Elmhurst Hospital, 26 percent (1,426 births 374 C-sections)

Evanston Hospital, 26 percent (3,590 births 966 C-sections)

Adventist Hinsdale Hospital, 26 percent (2,252 births 588 C-sections)

Swedish Covenant Hospital, Chicago, 25 percent, (2,464 births 618 C-sections)

West Suburban Hospital, Oak Park, 20 percent (2,175 births 453 C-sections)

University of Illinois Medical Center, Chicago, 14 percent (2,893 births 433 C-sections)

Some notes about the three hospitals with the lowest cesareans:

UIC is one of the few hospitals in the area that supports vaginal birth after 2 cesareans (VBA2C). Most hospitals in the area view women who have had multiple cesareans as too risky for vaginal births and schedule them for repeat cesareans.
West Suburban and Swedish Covenant both have alternative birthing centers on the premises used by midwifery practices that support natural childbirth and evidence based maternity care. Women birthing in these birth centers aren’t forced to having labors conform to a curve or else face called cesareans for: “Failure to Progress”, “Arrested Labor,” or “Cephalopelvic Disproportion- CPD.”

if your hospital is not listed here, leave a comment and I’ll crunch the numbers and post your hospital’s rate. Or you can check out the report yourself and leave it in the comments.

2008 Illinois Hospital Profiles

It does make a difference where you choose to give birth.

Prematurity is a Health issue for North Americans

doula — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 14:08:38 +0000

In response to a March of Dimes report, the NY Times published an AP piece this morning highlighting the fact that while premature babies remain a concern in developing countries, this is also a local issue for those of us who live in North America.

Early Births Take a Toll

One thing we need to keep in mind is that premature birth can have long term consequence well-past the time spent in the NICU. These families may have to deal with a lifetime of blindness, cerebral palsy, developmental delays and other issues.

The March of Dimes is doing amazing work to help educate families and prevent prematurity around the world.

For some simple and practical solutions that can point our families and babies toward healthier, safer beginnings, check out this video on Reducing Infant Mortality.

Reducing Infant Mortality – the Video

doula — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 03:18:04 +0000

Becoming parents for the first time or adding another new life to your family is full of decisions and choices about your health care – during the pregnancy, the birth, and beyond. This video looks at pregnancy and childbirth through a broad lens advocating practices that best serve moms, babies, and families nationwide.

Reducing Infant Mortality from Debby Takikawa on Vimeo.

Reducing the Infant Mortality Rate and Improving the Health of Babies

doula — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 04:26:19 +0000

Screnshot from the trailer of Reducing Infant Mortality

Just saw on UnneCesarean a post about a free online film being released on July 26th: Reducing Infant Mortality and Improving the Health of Babies. It highlights the sad fact that too many babies are dying in the U.S. around the time of birth. As health care is debated on Capitol Hill this summer, this film is hoping to bring light to a particularly dark corner of our health care system.

I knew that in the US, we ranked very poorly overall, especially when compared to other developed nations (42nd in fact). I learned watching the trailer that it is even more perilous for African American babies in the U.S. With a rate of 16 deaths per 100 births, African American babies are close to 2.5 times more likely to die around the time of birth than babies from the general population in the U.S. This is scandalous.

Experts interviewed for the film are Obstetricians, Family Physicians, Midwives, MD’s, Doulas, and PhD’s including: Michel Odent, Thomas Verny, Marshall Klaus, Phyllis Klaus, Marsdsen Wagner, David Chamberlain, Karen Strange, Robbie Davis-Floyd, Jennie Joseph, Sarah Buckley, Bruce Smith, Yeshi Neumann, Paul Fleiss, Maria Iorillo, Stuart Fischbein, Debra Bonaro-Pascali and Judith Prager.

Watch the trailer here: Reducing Infant Mortality

Get Involved Here: Reducing Infant Mortality: Take Action