Study Shows Too Many C-Sections for Low-Risk Pregnancies

 Posted on December 00, 0000 in Cook County personal injury lawyer

There is growing concern in the medical community of the number of Caesarian deliveries, (also referred to as C-sections), being performed on pregnant women in this country. According to statistics, one in three women has C-sections to deliver their first child. And of those women, 90 percent deliver their second child the same way. Thirty years ago, only five percent of babies were delivered by C-section.

A Caesarian delivery brings with it all the usual risks and complications associated with any surgery. There is also a higher rate of babies being admitted to the neonatal intensive care units with delivered by C-section. All this also adds up to higher medical costs, and more profit, for physicians and hospitals, compared with the cost of vaginal deliveries.

A recent study conducted by Consumer Reports ranks hospitals by the number of Caesarian sections performed there each year. The publication looked at the billing records of 1,500 hospitals in 22 states. They found that the number of C-sections varied greatly. This occurred even in hospitals that were in the same areas.

An example of these great discrepancies occurred at three hospitals in the Los Angeles area. At one hospital, 55 percent of low-risk pregnancies ended in Caesarian deliveries. At the second hospital, only 28 percent of low-risk pregnancies resulted in C-sections. The third hospital only had 15 percent of low-risk pregnancies end in a Caesarian delivery. For the study, low risk pregnancies were defined as “women who haven’t had a C-section before, don’t deliver prematurely, and are pregnant with a single baby who is properly positioned.”

The same situation occurred in Texas, where one hospital had a rate of 37 percent, yet the hospital just four miles away had a rate of 15 percent.

In total, 66 percent of all the hospitals surveyed received a low rating by the publication for the amount of C-sections they perform. Only 12 percent of hospitals in the group received a high rating for performing a low number of surgeries.

There are times that Caesarian sections are necessary to endure the safety of the mother and child. However, as this report and many other studies emphasize, there are too many women and infants being put at risk for unnecessary operations. If you have suffered side-effects from an unnecessary C-section, contact an experienced Orland Park personal injury attorney to find out what compensation you may be entitled to for pain and loss.