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Contact: Frank Sobrino, Press Secretary
O: (212) 669-4193
For Immediate Release: December 4,
2006
Gotbaum
Report: Hospitals Fail to Provide Important Birthing Information
As the rate of Cesarean section births
continues to rise, New York City hospitals are still failing to
provide legally mandated information on C-section deliveries,
according to a report released today by Public Advocate Betsy
Gotbaum.
Citing the most current state data
available, the report notes that the rate of C-section deliveries
in New York City public and private hospitals increased from 26.6
percent in 2003 to 28.6 percent in 2004. The C-section rate at
several hospitals was more than twice the 15 percent maximum rate
recommended by the World Health Organization, and three times
the optimal rate cited by researchers. No hospital met that target.
In 1970, only 7 percent of deliveries in the United States involved
cesarean section.
Gotbaum’s report, a follow-up
to one the Public Advocate released last year, found that all
44 New York City hospitals offering labor and delivery services
are still failing to comply with the New York State Maternity
Information Act. The law requires hospitals to provide expectant
mothers with a pamphlet describing C-sections and other birthing
procedures, including labor inductions and episiotomies, and information
about the rates at which each of these procedures is performed.
“Pregnant women need accurate
information about all their birthing options in order to make
informed decisions,” Gotbaum said. “Our hospitals
are doing a great disservice to expectant mothers by failing to
comply with state law and provide detailed information on C-section
deliveries.”
“The best research evidence
is clear: unless there’s a compelling and well-supported
reason for Cesarean-section, vaginal birth is the safest way for
women to give birth and babies to be born,” said Maureen
Corry, MPH, Executive Director of Childbirth Connection, formerly
Maternity Center Association. “Women need full and accurate
information well before labor about what is at stake in decisions
about how to give birth, along with access to hospital-specific
data to assist them in selecting a hospital that best suits their
needs.”
“We call on New York City hospitals
to comply with New York State law and provide to the public, without
condition, information related to their obstetrical intervention
rates,” said Elan McAllister, President of consumer advocacy
group Choices in Childbirth. “In this current era of alarmingly
high rates of Cesarean sections, inductions, and other potentially
risky obstetrical interventions, transparency in hospital maternity
care practices is essential. The Maternity Information Act is
designed to provide that critical information to consumers so
that they are able to make fully informed maternity care decisions.”
A C-section is an invasive surgical
procedure in which a baby is delivered through the abdomen or
uterus of the mother. Although maternal mortality rates in the
United States are low, the mother’s risk of death resulting
from a C-section is two-and-a-half times greater than from a vaginal
delivery. In addition to the increased mortality rate, other concerns
include increased risk of infection, injury to other organs and
infertility. Though rare, life-threatening risks such as serious
bleeding and blood clots or the need for an emergency hysterectomy
are increased in C-section deliveries.
Overall, the City’s public hospitals
had lower C-section rates than privately operated facilities.
The increase in Cesarean rates in the City mirrors the nationwide
increase from 27.5 percent in 2003, to 29.1 percent in 2004.
Public Advocate Gotbaum made the following
recommendations in her report:
• The New York State Department
of Health must monitor and evaluate New York City hospitals’
compliance with the MIA;
• The New York City Health and
Hospitals Corporation must work with the New York State Department
of Health to ensure that the city’s 12 public hospitals
offering labor and delivery services comply with the MIA;
• The State Department of Health
must make every reasonable effort to collect, calculate, and redistribute
statistics in a timely manner;
• Both the New York State Department
of Health and the New York City Department of Health and Mental
Hygiene should make all information required by the MIA available
and easily accessible on their respective websites.
“It’s simply unacceptable
for hospitals to fail to comply with the Maternity Information
Act,” Gotbaum said. “The law is meant to ensure that
expectant mothers are provided important information they need
to make the best decisions possible. We’re seeing an increase
in C-section deliveries, and women need to understand the potential
risks involved with this procedure.”
* * *
Giving
Birth In The Dark: City Hospitals Still Failing to Provide Legally
Mandated Maternity Information (December 2006) (PDF)
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