Should c/s rates be published? Naming & shaming...

[paradise lost]

That's a great point katnap! In fact i know of several women in Perth (scotland) who chose not to have and Ob and went midwife only purely because the number of MRSA cases in newborns at the nearest obstetric cnetre was terrifying - WELL above the national average. My friend had to have an emergency section there due to her bubs turning partially-breech (bum, one foot and one hand presenting) during labour and she was VERY concerned. The centre have since pulled their socks up, because the NHS's openness means everyone is fully accountable.

Bx

[~Raven~]

We need to know so we can make informed choices. If you had 2 hospitals next door to eachother would your choice be swayed by having this information at hand?

What needs to happen is for these c/s rates to be categorized and not lumped into one.

There are several different circumstances that c/sect occur and nobody is saying that the mother is the one that should be shamed.

The ones that should be shamed are the medicos/hospitals that create a culture of pushing anxious parents to be into unnecessary interventions that ultimately end up with a distressed baby that needs to be born via c/sect.

[Smoke Jaguar]

make sure the OB / hospital you choose is the right one for you

How do you then make sure if you don't have these figures? Eenie meenie minie moe?
I'll second Bec and reiterate that it's the HOSPITALS that are supposedly being 'shamed', not the people having them (no-one's ever going to suggest this on BB without being censored for being rude and unreasonable!). I didn't think it was that subtle a difference, yet posters are still confusing this.

[BellyBelly]

Yes
41% (547 votes)
No
44% (591 votes)
Only in extreme cases
14% (191 votes)
Total votes
Total of 1329 votes

[Smoke Jaguar]

I guess I'm always going to be taken aback when someone says "I'm just going to trust my OB/I'll do whatever the doctors say"... When people have interventions, I'd much rather they not be ostriches about it and actually know what's happening to them. From other people's experiences in my immediate sphere, this really helps with healing and debriefing when interventions have to be made and lets mummies get on with creating more positive energy for their bubbas.

[BellyBelly]

Thats a good point. So many women wonder what the hell happened at their birth, feel disappointed and more women are getting post traumatic stress disorder and PND after birth... we need to start taking more responsibility for ourselves and our decisions, we research so many other things when we are making a purchase, why isn't birth as important?

There is a BB poll, where I asked how you choose your Ob, the #1 response was word of mouth. I notice that alot, people will ask around who they had and pick them. Along with the "My ob was brilliant, he saved my baby when it was an emergency!" -- well what created the emergency in the first place? Alot of babies are born in 'emergencies' these days. We know that simply having a doula at your birth reduces c/s by 50% based on many studies around the world, they all match up, that's gotta be saying something, thats massive - and its NOT a reduction from having medical care... hmmmmm....

[Kitt3n]

-- well what created the emergency in the first place? Alot of babies are born in 'emergencies' these days. .

This is so true. I think society has put upon us a fear of birthing - so we hand ourselves over to the medical institutions to care for us, because we are not informed as to how to take care of ourselves..... and many of us do not seek this information, we simply go along to our monthly/fortnightly/weekly appointments and smile when the ob says "yep everything is fine".

I know 5 other people who are due at around the same time as me. Not one of them had any idea what a doula was, and all of them think i am some weird freak for planning a homebirth. None of them have done any investigations as to what happens to them, one didnt even know about the stages of labour! I mean c'mon!!!!!!!!