BORN IN THE U.S.A. - Facts about Childbirth

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Cesarean Delivery

FACTS ABOUT CHILDBIRTH IN THE U.S.

Childbirth accounts for one fifth of all health care expenditures in the U.S.
More than one out of every five babies (22 percent) is born by cesarean section. This number has not decreased substantially in 10 years, despite the benchmark of 15 percent set by the Centers for Disease Control in 1990.
Well over half of all American births involve some kind of surgical or operative procedure cesarean section, episiotomy, vacuum extraction or forceps.
Between 1989 and 1997 the use of drugs to start labor (induce) or increase the strength or frequency of contractions (augment) doubled. Induction of labor is associated with an increase in cesarean sections.
As a matter of course, almost all women under obstetrical care are required to fast during labor, although the data suggest that this practice is unnecessary and can actually make laboring and birth more difficult.
The average prenatal appointment with an obstetrician lasts less than 10 minutes. With a home-birth midwife, the average prenatal appointment lasts 45 to 60 minutes.
In 1999, midwives attended approximately 320,000 births (eight percent of all births) in hospitals, out-of-hospital birth centers and private residences.
African American babies are two to three times more likely to die during childbirth than their white counterparts. The mortality rate for African American mothers during childbirth is four times higher than for whites.
Most women do not have access to birthing center services. According to the National Association of Childbearing Centers, there are only 145 out-of-hospital birth centers across the country and they exist in only 31 states.
Studies show that the continuous presence of a trained labor support person improves women's childbearing experience - lessening fear, anxiety and pain - and results in better outcomes, including fewer interventions and complications, greater success at breastfeeding and less likelihood of c-section or vaginal tearing.
A 1989 study published in the New England Journal of Medicine showed that low-risk women in a birthing center were as safe as low-risk women in the hospital, but had fewer interventions and fewer c-sections.