Staci Bishop

Thursday, August 9, 2012

Reading Roundup 8/9 (Cesarean & VBAC edition)

Tennessee Cesarean Rates by Hospital, 2010 - This is the most up-to-date information we have in my state. Unfortunately all hospitals are not required to release this information. One big hospital in Nashville, Centennial Women's Center, is missing from this report. Makes me wonder how high theirs is. For my area, Vanderbilt seems to have the lowest (31.5%) rate.

Cesarean Section Rates in the United States - This is from the AGOG website and shows rates from 1970 until 2006. Interestingly, this chart also shows the VBAC rate. I found it fascinating that only 10% of women were getting to VBAC in 2006, when it has been as high as 28% just a decade earlier.

The Evidence for Skin-To-Skin Care After a Cesarean - "The benefits of skin-to-skin care are so clear that the World Health Organization recommends ALL newborns receive skin-to-skin care, no matter the baby’s weight, gestational age, birth setting, or clinical condition."

Cesareans More Dangerous Than Previously Thought: 1 in 10 women develop infections - "Post-surgical infection can seriously affect a woman’s quality of life at a critical time when she is recovering from an operation and has a new born baby to look after. More needs to be done to look into this and address ways of reducing infection."

Professor Declerqc Discusses Rising Cesarean Rates - Interesting video that ultimately led me to the site below.

Birth by the Numbers - This man knows his numbers and breaks down years of stats and research into a nifty little video. You can also download the powerpoint slides.

ObGyns Issue Less Restrictive VBAC Guidelines - Straight from the mouth of the governing body for obstetricians. "The current cesarean rate is undeniably high and absolutely concerns us as ob-gyns. These VBAC guidelines emphasize the need for thorough counseling of benefits and risks, shared patient-doctor decision making, and the importance of patient autonomy. Moving forward, we need to work collaboratively with our patients and our colleagues, hospitals, and insurers to swing the pendulum back to fewer cesareans and a more reasonable VBAC rate." - Richard N. Waldman, MD, president of The College

Should There Be a Limit on Cesareans? - "But now the WHO states that "there is no empirical evidence for an optimum percentage" and stresses that "what matters most is that all women who need Caesarean sections receive them"." <---- While I disagree with this new position, this article raises some very interesting points about women's choice as well as what factors may be contributing to a higher C-section rate.

Trial of Labor is a new documentary coming out and I am very anxious to see it. It follows 4 women who had a primary C-section and are pursing a VBAC. The trailer is below. If you would like to suppor the film, click here.

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