Did You Know?
The United States has one of the highest infant and maternal mortality rates among industrialized nations.
The chances are that 1 out of 3 women who give birth in a hospital in the United States will undergo a C-Section.
The vast majority of women in the United States give birth in the Hospital with an OB or Certified Nurse Midwife.
The vast majority of European women give birth at home or at a Birth Center with a Professional Midwife.
The maternal mortality rate is lower among European birthing mothers than it is for American.
Which one of the following Births would You Choose? Click on the links to view the videos.
Cesarean Rates for Hospitals in Lee County Florida
|County||AHCA Number||Hospital Name||2009 Total Cesareans||2009 Total Deliveries||2009 Cesarean Rate|
|Lee||100244||Cape Coral Hospital||496||1,412||35.1%|
|Lee||111522||Gulf Coast Hospital||137||470||29.1%|
|Lee||120005||Healthpark Medical Center||1,445||3,467||41.7%|
|Lee||100220||Southwest Florida Regional Med Ctr||403||1,409||28.6%|
Did you know?
- The artificial inducement rate in the United States is higher than 20%?
Risks of Artificial Inducement of Labour
- Inducing and Augmenting Labour: premature baby, uterine rupture, amniotic fluid embolism, unnaturally strong contractions, fetal distress, continuous fetal monitoring, continuous IV, increased risk of infection, may affect baby’s heart rate, cord prolapse, increases the need for analgesics and/or epidural, may increase the need for a cesarean
Methods: Stripping the membranes, Cervical ripening, Pitocin, AROM (Artificial Rupture of Membranes)
Did You Know?
Pitocin is an off-label drug ( not approved by FDA) for Labor and Delivery. Pitocin was approved by the FDA for treatment of postpartum hemorrhage, not for inducement of labor because of the potential risks involved that are mentioned above. Pitocin is to be used only if inducement is necessary and the risks of its use outweigh the risks of spontaneous labor.
DID YOU KNOW?
Analgesics – Pain Medication
- All analgesics are systematic medications that pass through the placenta into your baby’s bloodstream.
Examples: (Stadol, Fentanyl, Nubain, and Morphine)
- Does not provide total pain relief.
- May cause drowsiness, disorientation, itching, or nausea.
- May slow breathing or lower blood pressure.
- May slow labor if taken too early.
- May cause the baby to be sleepy and have difficulty sucking at first.
- May temporarily slow the baby’s breathing and reflexes if taken within 1-3 hours of birth.
- FDA: Reports of neurological damage to newborn
- May cause fussiness and irritability in the newborn for the first six weeks.
- Long term effects of drugs entering the baby’s system are not known.
Reference: FDA and See What You Read- Web-Enhanced Parent Guides – Chidbirth – Publisher: Birth and Parenting Injoy Videos p.39
- The Myth of a Safer Hospital Birth for Low-Risk Pregnancies? (zedie.wordpress.com)
- The Mommy Wars Continue: Birth Choices As Battle Zone (hercircleezine.com)
- Aetna Urges Moms to Avoid Cesareans Births to Reduce Risk – Bloomberg (bloomberg.com)