Many people who read here know I am heavily involved in a maternity care campaign here in Connecticut called Worst to First. We have been researching the hospitals in the entire state for statistics such as their cesarean section rates. The World Health Organization recommends a cesarean rate of NO higher than 10% for healthy low risk women, and 15% for high risk pregnancies, and some of the hospitals in Fairfield county almost triple that, and some are even higher.
I know as a mother, and someone who would like to consider herself an educated consumer, I would like to know these kind of numbers coming out of these hospitals. But the problem is, they are not easy to get. It took me a full month, and pulling teeth to get these. Many hospitals would not give them out, saying they are “not public record”. Now you would think there would be some kind of law saying the hospitals need to share the information. NOPE!
Not here in Connecticut. Only New York and Massachusetts. Which is why it is important to get the same kind of law in Connecticut.
With that being said, here are the numbers for Fairfield county. For a full list of all the hospitals in Connecticut, please click on the link provided.
Bridgeport Hospital – 39.07%
Danbury Hospital – 30.21%
Greenwich Hospital – 34.20%
Norwalk Hospital – 32.12%
St. Vincent’s Medical Center – 44.50%
Stamford Hospital – 37.99%
These are some huge numbers. In the majority of these hospitals, with the exception of Danbury hospital, 1 in ever 3 women that go into the hospital to give birth, will be subject to major surgery. Whether it is necessary or not.
I think we as consumers really need to not only have access to these numbers, but research carefully where we choose to give birth to our children!
Number provided by The Connecticut Office of Health Care Access.
College educated persons know to speak to their providers and discuss all the options that are best for them, their bodies, their health and most importantly their babies. It is people who are on Medicaid and get constantly knocked up and people who are uneducated who cause the high c-section rates because they don’t take care of themselves. I hope you are getting paid for this garbage you are rambling on about.
Comment by Whats It To You — September 28th, 2009 @ 4:03 pm
You would actually be incorrect in your assumptions. I will explain. Cesarean section rates among the more “high risk” women, those being medicaid patients, smokers, teen parents, and those with less access to pre-natal care have lower cesarean rates. In addition, private insurance companies pay for 54% of annual cesarean sections, where as medicaid pays for less than 41%, so in that sense you are incorrect. The problem with medicaid also is these women, whether they are victims of the current economy, or irresponsible are only allowed to see certain providers who take medicaid, if the care was extended further to midwives, and alternative birthing options, there would be a huge drop in medicaid costs among pregnant women.
Comment by elwood — September 28th, 2009 @ 4:11 pm
Whats it to you,
Actually it is the highly educated OB’s in this country that have caused the appallingly high rise of the cesarean section rate over the last 20 years. How is that you may ask; Well these highly educated doctors tell women not to worry about it, let me take care of it. You don’t need to know why, it’s not your responsibility, it is mine. If something goes wrong you will sue me so I need to make these really hard decisions. You don’t want to be responsible for the death of your baby, because you didn’t go to school for Obstetrics.
I am college educated and researched my rear off before the birth of my son and guess what I was cut open because they were ultimately tired of labor sitting me in the hospital. I was lied to and only found out after the fact. I ask questions now and get told it is not my job to know the statistics and that I really can’t rely on the research or studies that help to prove my point of view. Their are rules and policies in place to protect me from making the wrong decision, because I can’t possibly know what I want or what is best for me and my unborn child.
Truth is when a woman is in labor she is in the most vulnerable place/position of her life. Here she is trying to bring another human being into the world and all anyone/everyone in her room wants to do is tell her what to do instead of letting nature take its course. Doctors know that a women having been in labor for 20 hours or more is tired, hungry(b/c they wont let women in labor eat) and mentally drained they can just keep on pushing here and there to get what they want.
So before you go trashing someone who has actually educated themselves on Birth in America maybe, just maybe, you need to do some reading on your own and not be a socio-economic bigot assuming that the only women getting cut open against their will are, baby-daddy well-fare cases. All women regardless of race, religion or soci-economic status are being butchered.
Comment by CarolinaMomma — September 28th, 2009 @ 4:57 pm
Well educated doctors have more education and experience then the mothers you claim that are butchering them. Ignorant people forget to look at the risks that are associated with birth, including death of the mother and fetus, just because these women think they can deliver vaginally, yet, due to lack of health care or other issues such as cysts, can not. Would you rather see a mother and baby die or get to the brink of death because of not wanting to have a c-section or would you rather see a health baby?
ALSO REMEMBER SOME WOMEN WILLINGLY CHOOSE TO GIVE BIRTH VIA A C-SECTION AND THEREFORE SHOULD NOT BE PUT DOWN FOR THEIR CHOICE! Would you put down someone who had a vaginal delivery? It is a women’s choice and a women’s body………….
Comment by Whats It To You — September 28th, 2009 @ 5:18 pm
What’s it to you – I really think you need to rethink your attitude. There are many well educated men and women who are on medicaid/medicare. The actual qualifications for enrollment are like 200% of the Federal Poverty Level. So, if you are a family of 5, plus one on the way, you can make around $50,000 and still qualify.
Comment by Mel — September 28th, 2009 @ 5:24 pm
I do not see anyone putting anyone down for their choices, or medically necessary cesarean sections. The only “put down” I saw was your comment about those who use medicaid for medical insurance.
Of course women should be able to make an informed choice in what they want for their medical care, but they should also know the risks that go along with that choice. No one said otherwise.
No one wants mothers or babies do die, but if you look at the death rates you can see a large difference.
Maternal mortality for vaginal delivery is 1 in 10,000. Maternal mortality for a cesarean section is 1 in 2,500. As someone who has had two cesarean sections, I would never elect to go through that, especially with the risks.
As for the doctors, they may be book educated, but with the defensive medicine being practiced today, how do you really know they are doing exactly what is best for you and your baby, and not what is best for their own butt?
Comment by elwood — September 28th, 2009 @ 5:24 pm
*raising hand* Poly-cystic ovaries AND endometriosis who delivered vaginally. NOT a reason to be cut open. But many women, even well educated women, are “trained” that doctors always have the best intentions at hand. Unfortunately, that isn’t true and that’s when women are scarred physically AND emotionally. When they start wondering why? Was it necessary? When they get their records and see lies and falsified information, including that the laboring mother requested the cesarean, this causes major trauma. This is just like molestation. These women TRUSTED their OBs and their OBs lied to them. That has nothing to do with the education or income level of the mother. This has to do with doctors. So now, women are finding out that they have choices. Not every woman’s body is “broken” and these women are standing up and taking action. They are now questioning their care providers and being labeled as hard to deal with. Not so. We just aren’t following the herd! If the OBs would start giving GOOD and truthful information when asked the pros & cons of a cesarean, then that’s when we can step back and nod and say, “You can listen to that OB!”
Comment by Piper — September 28th, 2009 @ 5:33 pm
My only response is that you need to read my whole reply and that I never belittled anyone. Just the opposite of what you did and continue to do. I don’t think you want to get into a statistics tit-for-tat with me on birth.
The numbers listed above are cold hard facts and the information provided by the blogger is on the ball. When you can present a competent argument to counter the information provided I and other are happy to read and consider.
Be well
Comment by CarolinaMomma — September 28th, 2009 @ 5:35 pm
I’m a college-educated, well-read individual with private insurance who does “take care of [her]self”, and yet I was sectioned unnecessarily. So how will you pigeon-hole me, whats-it-to-you? It’s clear to me the author of this post is well-versed on the subject. If you find it offends you so, perhaps you should look harder at your own assumptions.
Comment by Lindsey — September 28th, 2009 @ 5:39 pm
Dear “Whats it to you,”
First of all, you can’t possibly be college-educated yourself because you clearly have no concept of the apostrophe. As an English degree holder, I cringe at your ridiculous attempts to appear “intelligent.” By “Whats,” I assume you mean the contraction of “what is” — not a plural of the word “what.” Therefore, you should have typed “What’s” in its place. Proper grammar — learn it before you take a dig at anyone on the internet.
Secondly, what makes you think all Medicaid mothers are uneducated women who “constantly” get “knocked up” — is it because you assume that all poor people must be ignorant? Get out from under your rock. In the United States, we have been in one of the worst recessions in the history of our nation. Dual-career couples who once made $100k combined have been laid off due to budget crises. Those same people may have had children when it was considered “prudent” to do so, and those same people have a parental obligation to do what’s right to support their children. Those measures may include unemployment checks, food stamps, and Medicaid. Those people may feel undermined because they once could afford to pay their mortgage, family cell phone plans, and purchase take-out food once or twice a week. Now they are reduced to living as the poor do. Will you go knocking on their doors to inform them that they are uneducated? I certainly hope they’re having a good day when you do so because s/he may be very tempted to give you a dental readjustment. (Oh right, you don’t even know how to use an apostrophe. Let me break that down into smaller words that you might understand: He punch you in face!!!! [insert grunts here] Make more sense now, honey?)
In the future, I would like to hope that you will THINK before you speak/ type. I would also like to hope you’ll pick up an elementary-level English text book and learn how to insult people with proper grammar.
Love,
Meredith
P.S. You should really look up the comma, as well. You clearly don’t understand how to use that lovely little device either.
Comment by Meredith — September 29th, 2009 @ 7:46 am