We have far too many interventions when it comes to birth, which can be one of the most natural things in the world. It's how us humans continue to populate the Earth. Most times we have sex the old fashioned way and therefore we can birth the way they did in olden times, too. Because it's human nature. But somewhere along the line we stopped trusting birth. Could you imagine if you stopped trusting sex? And had to have a doctor there to facilitate the experience ... with drugs?
I fault some of the medical community for poisoning our minds into thinking we need drugs to have our babies. And then we need more drugs. We need to schedule this. We need to get baby out now way before it's time. Let's schedule a c-section because the holiday is coming up and I want to go on vacation with my family so let's get this baby out.
Well, this just in! Insurance companies are basically telling hospitals to stop the c-section epidemic.
If you didn't believe there is a c-section epidemic, this may convince you. Insurance companies, often known for giving us a hard time with pre-existing conditions and required referrals and all the scary "This Is Not A Bill" paperwork, are feeling that hospitals have gone overboard with this expensive procedure and they're saying it's far too often unnecessary. Aetna and Cigna are leading the way.
Okay, maybe you are thinking it's because they don't want to pay. And yes, that's part of it. But think about this: C-sections cost on average $24,300 while a vaginal birth is around $15,200. Meaning doctors and hospitals make more money off c-sections. A lot more. And the attending doctor is the one who makes the money. Hence the scheduling so your doc can be there and take home the cash. Vaginal births can happen at any time, naturally, and if your OBGYN has a vacation coming up around your due date, he or she won't get paid if your baby decides to come when that doc is beach-bound.
I know it's not always like that. Maybe your c-section was necessary. Very necessary. Mine was. I get it. We need that knowledge and cesareans do save lives. But things have gotten out of hand.
Interestingly, Aetna wants to adjust prices for c-sections. And Cigna is considering the same, along with giving bonuses to hospitals who reduce early cesareans and inductions. This is wonderful news. Incentive. And if it happens, and if more or all insurance companies follow, I really believe our c-section rate will decline to a number that makes sense.
This isn't just about having a vaginal birth. This is about the safety and health of baby. It's been cited in a 2009 study in the New England Journal of Medicine that babies born at 38 weeks had twice the amount of medical problems compared to those born at 39 weeks. Every week is vital when in utero. The risk of complications at 37 weeks is nearly four times as much.
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Comments 56
And what happens when a hospital trying to get more cash or have a more convenient birth forces major surgery on a mother when it's completely unnecessary? There can be serious complications from any surgery. It should be avoided unless necessary.
It boggles my mind why people get so bent out of shape about this topic. At no point in the article did the author say that C-sections should be banned. She even said that they are necessary and save lives. So she's not attacking all moms that have had them (she's even had one!!!) But the FACT is that the C-section rate is about triple what doctors think it should be (in terms of medically necessary intervention to save lives because of a pre-existing condition, not as a result of unnecessary medical intervention which is what occurs in a lot of cases). So if something can be done to reduce the rate of unnecessary surgeries, why is this a problem???
My one bone to pick with this article is that the author says we've been essentially tricked into thinking we need drugs. Well, we might not need them, and you might not need drugs for dental extractions or setting a broken leg either, but damn if my epidural didn't make my birth experience less traumatic! :)
Per the World Health Organization, cesarean rates should be no higher than 15% (which should cover the necessary, life saving situations). Cesarean rates in the US are 33%, in some states are 50% or more. VBAC rates in the US are 9% (that right there is part of the problem, women oftentimes are not given the option to have even a trial of labor much less a reasonable chance to succeed at a VBAC). I had a cesarean with my firstborn. Two years ago, I was pregnant with my second daughter. Pregnancy was healthy, no health complications, and it had been over four years since I had had my older daughter. First hospital I went to wasn't even going to allow me a trial of labor because of my weight. OB was just going to schedule my cesarean. She KNEW I was going to fail so wasn't even going to let me try. I left and went to another hospital. He wasn't totally on board with a VBAC but figured if he didn't at least give me a chance to try, I'd go the homebirth route (and he was right, that was going to be my next option). My VBAC baby was born July 20, 2010 just two and a half hours after I arrived at the hospital. Cesarean rates are high, higher than they should be and there are a number of factors behind it. Hopefully more will be done to decrease those rates so that lives are still saved but not too many unnecessary cesareans are being done as well.
I think the incentives are ONLY for C-sections and inductions scheduled for convenience. It's scheduled inductions that lead to a significant number of C-sections, so incentivizing doctors to only induce when it is medically necessary would, in and of itself, seriously cut into the rate of C-sections. And I am fine with this. I saw one doctor who would have scheduled me any time after 36 weeks. My regular OB's mother had died, and she was standing in. When I asked my doc, she said she NEVER induces unless it is medically necessary. Unfortunately, for me, I was induced at 36 weeks. I had prolonged rupture of membranes that the stand in doc missed and had leeched out all my amniotic fluid. So it was be induced, or risk both our lives to infection.
my second was a scheduled induction. I had severe pre-e with my first one that resulted in an induction 3 and a half weeks early. because my first left me with chronic high blood pressure, I was a considered high risk complicated pregnancy the second time around and my induction was scheduled. and this was in a military hospital where they are perfectly happy letting you go to 42 weeks before intervening. happily I was able to deliver both my girls vaginally.
I want to see where you got all these "facts" about how much doctors make and who gets what. I HATE articles like this on this site. Poorly (if at all) reasearch presented as fact and then a scathing opinion about the whole mess. It makes me irate.