32.3%

of all babies born in the U.S. last year were born by Cesarean section.

• 12th consecutive year that the Cesarean rate has increased
• the total number of births decreased 2% from 2007 to 2008

See that dip when the rates went down a bit?  That was in the 1990’s when the trend was to encourage moms to have a VBAC.  Then policy changed and we are now at the height of an epidemic that doesn’t seem to be slowing down – especially if an entire state can have an average cesarean rate of 40%.

So in light of the craziness that is going on in U.S. hospitals, you can do a few things to increase your chances that your birth isn’t just a 1 in 3 crap shoot of whether or not you end up with major surgery:

10 Ways to Avoid an Unnecessary Cesarean

Avoid Unnecessary Induction

Carefully Choose Your Provider

Have Great Support at Your Birth

Avoid an Unnecesarean

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.

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

There was a marked decrease in the Cesarean rate in the 1990’s that resulted from a big push to encourage and allow VBACs.  Now that trend has changed despite the research showing that VBACs are actually less risky for mom and baby than repeat elective cesareans.  Now it is not uncommon for OBs and even entire hospitals to not support or even “allow” VBACs.