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C-Sections on the increase

The Associated Press reported on November 7, 2002 that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, Georgia claims that a government effort to reduce the rate of Cesarean Sections in the United States is headed for failure. The CDC focused on the number of women who had normal vaginal deliveries after having a previous C-section. In 2000, the American Academy of Obstetricians and Gynecologists came to the conclusion that the benefits of a normal delivery outweighed the. risks in healthy women who had a previous C-section. According to a recent u.S. government report 38% of women who had previous C-sections had normal vaginal deliveries in 1998. By 2001 the rate had dropped to 16.5%. The government has set a goal of 37% by 2010. According to the same report, doctors report that Csections are on the rise for three reasons. One, because they make it convenient for doctors to schedule births (the doctors also mentioned that normal deliveries are more time-consuming and they get paid more for a C-section). Two, because of the risk of legal action if something goes wrong (an admittedly small chance) and three, due to the risk of rupture along the old suture line in the uterus from previous C-sections (another admittedly small chance). Dr. Curtis Lowery, Director of the Maternal-Fetal Medicine Division of the Obstetrics and Gynecology Department of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, says that unneeded, subsequent C-sections are "not an effective spending of health care resources. What will happen as the result of multiple abdominal surgeries on patients?" Commentary: Fortunately, there are some rational voices in the wilderness who are willing to speak out for patient safety over doctor's convenience and incomes. Subjecting patients to increased risk because it is "convenient" or because you can charge a higher fee are only two of the reasons that the disease-care system itself has become the third leading cause of death in the United States.

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