The Business of Birthing

I am posting this because I believe it is info that needs to be out there, but even more so, I am posting it in honor of someone who I am praying was able to deliver in her own home free from intervention this week.

Although I have much to learn about the business of birthing, Danelle has opened my mind to a lot of things that I just took for granted to be true and right. As I understand it, there are many things to be considered including whether the pregnancy is a normal healthy pregnancy vs. high risk. But, I do continue to be amazed at some of the statistics regarding birthing practices in the U.S.

Once I decide to try this baby thing again, I will definitely be looking in to home birth, midwives, and what my options are here in Iowa. I need more education on my rights should I enter a hospital as far as having a choice about what is done to my body and my baby.

The "Business" of Birthing

Note: All of the information here represents fact, not opinion, of birthing within the United States. If you don't believe it, check the references listed at the end of the article. That being said, you may want to sit down before reading further...


FACT
Each year, the U.S. spends over $50 billion dollars on childbirth. This is more than any other nation in the world. (This number does not include babies in the NICU or readmissions during the first month.)


FACT
Birthing is the largest source of income for American hospitals.


FACT
The U.S. ranks 37th in the world for the quality of its health care.


FACT
Over HALF of all hospital admissions in America are for maternity.


FACT
Hospitals are NOT the safest place to have a baby. 25 infectious strains exist that are resistant to ALL known antibiotics. These are found primarily in hospitals.


FACT
75 years of routine hospital birth have produced NO studies to show it is safer than having a baby at home with a skilled birth attendant.


FACT
Both homebirth and birth centers have been scientifically proven to be as safe or safer than hospitals with a skilled labor attendant (i.e. midwives, not doctors).

FACT
The more technology used in childbirth, the more dangerous it becomes.


FACT
The larger the hospital, the greater the risks to both mother and baby.


FACT
Of the 4.3 million babies born annually in the U.S., a mere 5% represent natural childbirth.


FACT
America has the 40th highest infant mortality rate in the entire world.


FACT
The U.S.A. has the 14th highest maternal mortality ratio among developed nations.


FACT
Over 90% of all infants in the U.S. are born with drugs (e.g. narcotics from epidurals, pitocin, acetaminophen, etc) in their systems. NONE of these drugs have been tested for safe use in infants.


FACT
A 24-hour hospital stay, uncomplicated delivery in the U.S.A. costs anywhere from $8,000-10,000. This cost DOUBLES for a c-section.


FACT
ALL families in the U.S. are charged newborn nursery charges, even if the baby NEVER leaves the mother's room. This "routine" charge amounts to about $1.3 billion dollars annually, for services that are NOT rendered. (I'm not quite sure why this doesn't constitute insurance fraud - billing for services not rendered.)


FACT
Every year, 1 million, or about 20%, full-term, healthy infants are sent to the NICU for "observation" for an average stay of 3 days, totaling a whopping $6,000.


FACT
For newborns suspected to have serious medical conditions, the same NICU stay totals $20,000.


FACT
1 in 3 American women has an episiotomy. Episiotomies are medically indicated for less than 10% of all women. Over 1 million unnecessary episiotomies are performed annually in the U.S.


FACT
1 in 5 births in the U.S.A. are induced. 44% of women surveyed in 2002 reported their doctor wanted to induce. Only 16% reported medically-indicated reasons.


FACT
American women who elect epidurals are FOUR times as likely to have cesarean sections.


FACT
31.1% of American babies (nearly 1 in 3) in 2006 were delivered by cesarean section. The World Health Organization recommends a c-section rate of less than 10-15% as acceptable.


FACT
U.S. hospital policies for routine tests, practices, policies and procedures are based on financial considerations, which include malpractice insurance costs. They are not based on evidence, research, or appropriateness of care.


I truly hope you found these statistics disturbing. If they don't speak to the medicalization of childbirth in this country, I don't know what does.


The true horror comes in the fact that these views are being exported across the world. As the U.S. is such a powerhouse of marketing, more impressionable regions are adapting to these customs, despite the overwhelming evidence that the U.S. approach to childbirth IS SERIOUSLY FLAWED!


American obstetricians are taught to view birth as "a disaster waiting to happen." The average delivery in the U.S. is neither natural nor healthy. We have embraced a cascading system of successively more intense, unneeded interventions termed "active management" or the "standard of care".


So what do we do? How can we change the system?



We as a country need to reach beyond our own boundaries to embrace an effective model of maternity care. We, as women, mothers, and families, must educate ourselves as to the true process of labor and childbirth.


We must regain our faith in our bodies' perfect ability to have a baby. We must look at what the research is already telling us - that nature has it right!


In short, we must take back our birthing!


And if you're still not convinced, check these out:

http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr56/nvsr56_07.pdf

http://www.motherfriendly.org/Downloads/induct-fact-sheet.pdf

Deneux-Tharaux D, Berg C, Bouvier-Colle MH, Gissler M, Harper M, Nannini A, Alexander S, Wildman K, Breart G, Buekens P. Underreporting of Pregnancy-Related Mortality in the United States and Europe. Obstet Gynecol 2005;106:684-92.

http://www.who.int/whr/2005/en/

Hartmann K, Viswanathan M, Palmieri R, Gartlehner G, Thorp J, Lohr KN (2005). "Outcomes of routine episiotomy: a systematic review". JAMA 293 (17): 2141–8. doi:10.1001/jama.293.17.2141. PMID 15870418.

(2006) "ACOG Practice Bulletin. Episiotomy. Clinical Management Guidelines for Obstetrician-Gynecologists. Number 71, April 2006". Obstet Gynecol 107 (4): 957–62. PMID 16582142.

http://www.unicef.org/publications/index_18108.html

http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/obgyn.htm

http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/330/7505/1416?ehom

Macfarlane A, McCandlish R, Campbell R.
Choosing between home and hospital delivery. There is no evidence that hospital is the safest place to give birth.
British Medical Journal. 2000 Mar 18;320(7237):798.

Home versus hospital birth.
Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2000;(2)

The cost-effectiveness of home birth.
Journal of Nurse-Midwifery. 44(1):30-5, 1999 Jan-Feb.

http://www.kff.org/womenshealth/upload/whp061207othd.pdf

http://www.childbirthconnection.org/article.asp?ck=10401

http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/318/7189/995

Peck P. Preinduction cervical ripening significantly increases risk of cesarean. Medscape Medical News, 2003

Goer H. The Thinking Woman’s Guide to a Better Birth. New York: Perigee Books, 1999, p 228-9.

Fullerton JT and Severino R. In-hospital care for low-risk childbirth: comparison with results from the NationalBirth Center Study. J Nurse Midwifery 1992;37(5):331-340.


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