2008 Cesarean Statistics in PA: Primary Cesarean Rates (4 of 4)

In all the flurry about VBAC access and VBAC bans, sometimes the “primary” cesarean rate can get lost in the shuffle.  I think the primary cesarean rate is the most misunderstood of all the cesarean statistics.  I see the media mis-define it over and over, and even occassionally I see medical professionals misdefine it.

And yet, because a primary cesarean, is, by definition, the first cesarean a woman has, it may be, perhaps, her most important.  Because it is the one that forever labels her as high risk in future pregnancies.  As Joy Szabo and many women like her have found, having a vaginal birth after the cesarean, even having multiple vaginal births in ones history, does not erase the scarlet letter that a woman “earns” when she has that primary cesarean. Continue Reading…

2008 Cesarean Statistics in PA: VBAC Bans (3 of 4)

On the topic of VBAC bans, 19 hospitals in PA reported having “De Facto” bans (D), while 5 reported having “official” bans (B) in the survey done by ICAN in early 2009.  Oddly, 2 of the hospitals reported to have a VBAC ban have VBAC rates over 10%–12.2% at Bloomsburg Hospital in Cambria County, and 14% at St Joseph Medical Center a bit closer to me in Reading, Berks County.  I have to wonder if in each of these cases, the person who was answering the ICAN caller was simply unaware of what the policy was?  Continue Reading…

2008 Cesarean Statistics in PA: VBAC Rates (2 of 4)

After publishing my initial post about the cesarean stats in PA, focussing on the Lehigh Valley, my goal was to continue on with an analysis of the whole state.  Jill at The Unnecessarean “scooped” me slightly by posting the cesarean rate for all hospitals in PA, but I don’t mind.  Thank you Jill, for jumping on board!  The more voices, the merrier!  Well…maybe not “merrier” on this topic…but we definitely need as many voices as possible if we want positive change.

I’m going to present a bit more analysis though still.  I hope this is helpful for someone! Continue Reading…

2008 PA Cesarean Statistics are Now Available! (1 of 4)

In an early Christmas present, the PA Department of Health has released birth data for 2008, including cesarean statistics by hospital.

The cesarean rate in PA in 2008 rose just under 3% over 2007, going from 30.05% to 30.86%.  Most likely this will still keep us under the national average…but just barely.  The VBAC rate dropped from 13.8% to 13.3%.  

Looking more local to the Lehigh Valley, some of the results are very sobering.  Overall, the combined data for the 5 hospitals in the Lehigh Valley with maternity units saw their cesarean rate Continue Reading…

Was Joy Szabo’s birth a “victory?”

You may recall that I blogged about Joy Szabo 2 months ago.  At the time, she was pregnant, and was seeking media coverage because she had learned that the hospital closest to her, Page Hospital in Arizona, was denying her request to VBAC.  Ms. Szabo’s case was particularly troublesome because the nearest hospital to her that would “allow” VBAC was in Phoenix, a 6 hour drive from her home, and Ms. Szabo already had 2 vaginal births, so certainly would be expected to have good odds for being able to achieve her desired VBAC.  Having the cesarean would actually have put her baby and herself at a higher risk of complications than having a VBAC would.

Unfortunately, Ms. Szabo’s situation is far from unusual.  Continue Reading…

Is ICAN Under Stating How Bad the Cesarean Epidemic is?

The work that is done by the International Cesarean Awareness Network, or “ICAN” is important and worthwhile.  My hat is off to all the women who are part of this organization.  I actually had the opportunity just this morning to be a guest at the Lehigh Valley ICAN group meeting, and am immensly pleased that someone has finally stepped forward to form a group in this area. Continue Reading…

Cesarean Rate Information in PA

Right now the most recent data that is availble for cesarean rates in PA is from 2007.  You can find it at the PA Department of Health website.   

In this day and age…when Walmart can figure out that a store in Topeka sold out 5 minutes ago of size 6X brown Hannah Montana t-shirts and load more onto a truck going to that store tomorrow morning… Continue Reading…

Hospital Policy Pains Expectant Mother

The Lake Powell Chronicle, a newspaper in Arizona, carried an article recently highlighting the plight of a woman who has had 3 previous births–the first a vaginal birth, the second a cesarean, and the 3rd a VBAC.  Now, expecting her 4th child, she is being told that she must consent to a repeat cesarean because her local hospital (Page) has determined that it can not handle any possible emergencies that a VBAC might bring. Continue Reading…

“Spa-like atmosphere”

The Morning Call has a new parenting blog which has had some interesting posts.  A recent one though, I found to be mildly amusing.  The post, which I’d say is little more than an advertisement, gushes with enthusiasm about the new maternity unit opening at Grandview Hospital which is supposedly “spa like.”  Actually, I discovered that some of the text of the blog post is lifted directly from the hospital website–without acknowledgement. Continue Reading…