Skip to main content

The Business of Birthing (Repost)

The "Business" Of Birthing

This is a repost from the Giving Birth Naturally website.

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
Maternity care 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 ranks 29th in the world for its infant mortality rate, the number of babies who die in their first year per 1,000 live births, meaning the US loses more babies than 28 other nations per year.


FACT
The U.S.A. ranks 14th among developed nations for its maternal mortality ratio, the ratio of maternal deaths per 100,000 live births, meaning 13 other countries lose less mothers within 6 weeks of childbirth than the US does per year.


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 babyNEVER 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
31.8% of American babies (nearly 1 in 3) in 2007 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 births!


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

http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr57/nvsr57_12.pdf

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.


Giving Birth Naturally: "Business" of Birthing




Bookmark and Share

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

New Year, New Look

Happy New Year to all my family, friends and random readers! I hope that 2013 has been gentler to you than it has been to me, although, in spite of the tumult around me, I am faring well. I will get into a bit more detail in later posts. Suffice it to say I am living a bit of a country song right now, but since I am a fan of country music, I know that as long as I keep a hopping fiddle tune in my head and a dance in my step, I'll be golden. As you can see, I changed the picture in the header. For years I have been wanting the idyllic cottage/cabin/farmhouse somewhere in some woods. It doesn't seem like that is going to happen all too soon and so I have decided to put up a picture of my village, the place I serve. Photo By:  Jarrod Bruner                                                 There you have it folks the Philly skyline in Winter. Ain't she a beaut? My city. Every morning when I get off the train, I just get so dang happy just being there. There is an excite

Herbal Ally: Yarrow

Yarrow is a dear, dear friend of mine. I discovered this lovely plant on a trip to Salem, Mass. several years ago. At the time it was mostly a lot of folklore and stories, and the more I read about Yarrow, the more intrigued I was. Yarrow has a reputation for being the "Witches Herb" and I have no issues with that, considering I think 'witch' is a term that was thrown around haphazardly at any woman who was skilled in herbs, midwifery and healing. Let's just say the 'misogynistic religious right' was quite intimidated, with the herbwifes and midwives who came before us. I myself can accept the fact that if I was currently in those times, I'd have been burnt at the stake several times over by now. :::sheesh:: Yarrow is an amazing herb. Just being in her presence relaxes and calms the mind. Her gentle scent is very soothing. I personally love to pet the flowers and enjoy how each tiny flower feels of my hand. Spending time with a plant is truly the best

Crossing the Narrow Bridge--Together

For the past nine years I have wanted to learn Breslov Chasidut with someone, anyone, near my home. As there is no vibrant Breslov community here I was pretty much tough outta luck. I continued on my not so merry way, and occasionally I would meet up with someone who would be willing to learn a little with me. I must say, those times were like a small oasis to me and I was most grateful for them but they lasted only weeks, if I was lucky. By nobody's fault the learning simply fizzled out. Well, perhaps it was someone's fault. Maybe even mine. Perhaps I just wasn't ready. Perhaps I was not committed to learning with others and sharing that learning. Perhaps I simply did not want it enough then, because this past summer I have enjoyed the sweetness of learning with a group of ladies that have become such a precious time in my week and particularly of my shabbat. It all started when I met one lady at shul (synagogue). Now allow me to preface this with just a little someth