c-sections before 39 weeks - how you can help

Laura Shanley, of Bornfree/unassisted birth movement is looking to bring attention to the creation of premature babies via unnecessary early cesareans and she would like women to help...read on:

I am looking for women nationwide who can participate in media interviews to
promote a new educational campaign from The March of Dimes and United
Healthcare aimed at informing women and physicians about the risks
associated with C-sections before 39 weeks of gestation. I am looking for:
1. Women who are currently pregnant and feel strongly about carrying the
baby the full term (more than 39 weeks) and not having a C-section, unless
the procedure is medically indicated; 2. Women who have previously had a
C-section before 39 weeks gestation and felt the procedure was unnecessary
or had the baby end up in the NICU.

Please contact me at laurashanley@comcast.net
<mailto:laurashanley@comcast.net> and I will connect you with my son, Will
Shanley, who is the west coast director of public relations for United
Healthcare. Will is reaching out to print journalists across the nation and
encouraging them to write news stories about the new March of Dimes campaign
and the risks associated with early C-section.

Thanks in advance for your help in telling this important story!

Much love,
Laura

Laura Shanley
Bornfree! The Unassisted Childbirth Page

doulas in the news!

Check out USA Today's "Maternity Care Failings Can Be Remedied With Cost-Saving Fixes" to see how doulas are part of the solution!... Also information on cesareans and informed consent.

The article refers to the release of this report by Childbirth Connection, entitled, "Evidence-Based Maternity Care Report, 2008".

Of doulas, family-practice doctor Valerie King of the Oregon Health & Sciences University in Portland says,

"If a doula could be put in an IV drip, everyone would get it."

Also in USA Today, "Study: High-Tech Interventions Deliver Huge Childbirth Bill". I think the title speaks for itself.

are we creating preemies?

from Spinning Babies:

The March of Dimes notes a sharp rise in what they call Late Prematurity. Babies who are almost term, but not quite. They attribute this, in large part, to the increase in inductions & cesareans in the US.
One of their points on this petition is

3. We call on hospitals and health care professionals to voluntarily assess c-sections and inductions that occur prior to 39 weeks gestation to ensure consistency with professional guidelines.

I'd like to invite you to join this effort by signing the petition.

NYC cesarean rate has incread 24% in six years, but NJ can still say, "We're #1!"

The sky's the limit for cesarean surgery rates, apparently. I was reading Radical Doula & saw that like just about everywhere, NYC cesarean rates are on the rise, averaging about 31% (with many hospitals or care providers being much higher). A recent story on NY-1 highlights the research compiled by the New Space For Women's Health & Choices in Childbirth. They found a 24 percent jump in c-section rates throughout the city in just six years (2000-2006).

“We're concerned because we believe that there isn't enough information about the risks of cesarean section,” said New Space for Women's Health executive director Rebecca Benghiat.

Her group claims the higher rates could be linked to malpractice fears, lack of informed choices, and increasingly casual attitudes about surgery.

At least NJ doesn't have to feel bested by NYC on this issue - our rates are, sadly, even higher. NJ's preliminary 2006 rate, according to the CDC , is 37.4% of all births or 38.9% according to 2007 NJ health statistics (and you can bet the 2008 rates will be higher still). That makes NJ number one in the US again, unless you count Puerto Rico (a whopping 48%, which is still lower than St. Barnabas right down the road from me: 49.4%!). Certainly more that the 10-15% suggested by the World Health Organization...hell, I'd take Utah's 21.5%!