Childbirth Connection Report Reveals Serious Problems in Maternity Care Quality and Value

from MarketWatch - USA (The Wall Street Journal)

"...Overused Maternity Practices

The report shows maternity care is one more example of what's wrong with American health care. We're paying too much and getting the worst results in the developed world because of unneeded care," said Reforming States Group Vice Chair, State Senator Charles Scott of Wyoming. "The main causes are that providers earn more from unneeded care while fear of malpractice litigation encourages the same unneeded care. If we can implement the recommendations of this report, we can both reduce costs and improve the care our mothers and babies get...

Underused Maternity Practices
The analysis also found underuse of many effective practices with few or no known adverse effects. These practices include continuous support throughout labor (such as that provided by a doula), numerous measures that increase comfort and facilitate labor progress, upright and side-lying positions for giving birth, delayed cord clamping, and early skin-to-skin contact between mother and baby. More frequent use of these beneficial forms of care would lead to improved outcomes for many mothers and babies. Best available evidence also supports providing access to vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC) for most women with a previous cesarean, but such access has fallen off sharply in recent years, despite demand from women, and more than nine out of ten women with previous cesareans now have repeat cesareans."

-Rosie