We are excited to announce that we have created a closed Facebook group for ICAN of Central Iowa. We hope that this new group will help to facilitate more discussion and support related to our mission. Click on the link below…
ICAN of Central Iowa Facebook Group
April’s meeting will be on Tuesday, April 9. Please note that this is a change from what had been previously posted. We look forward to seeing you there.
We have some new information on our Statistics page. Check them out! Iowa VBAC and c-section rates both went up to 9.2% and 30.7% respectively. We are pretty happy about the VBAC rate going up.
The fact that Iowa has nearly a 31% c-section rate can be quite disturbing when the statistic should be closer to 15% according to the World Health Organization. The national rate stayed at a steady 32.8% c-section rate.
There is a belief that the national cesarean levels have plateaued according to this key finding from the CDC.
“The percentage of births in cesarean deliveries rose nearly 60 percent from 1996 through 2009, but this upward trend may be at an end. Following a small decline in the rate from 2009 to 2010 (32.9 to 32.8 percent), the cesarean delivery rate was unchanged for 2010-2011.”
Here are a few more charts for your viewing pleasure.
What is impressive about the Iowa statistics is that Iowa City hospitals have been and continue to be very good at producing high VBAC numbers.
Des Moines hospitals tend to hug the state average numbers for VBAC and CS. Some hospitals like Luther
an and Mary Greeley are plunging out of site for VBAC seekers.
Mercy in Iowa City is showing great numbers again for low CS percentages! I believe our ICAN team is investigating why this hospital reigns supreme for low CS and high VBAC numbers. Their numbers are pretty much our dream for all hospitals in Iowa!
An interesting one again is Mary Greeley. They posted low VBAC numbers but also have low CS numbers. This is good for them because even though they are not as VBAC friendly as the Iowa City hospitals, they are staying a good distance away from the national and Iowa average for CS. Does this mean that they are better at preventing unnecessary CS or supporting mothers during pregnancy? We will have to look more into this one too.
http://www.improvingbirth.org/2012/07/cervical-scar-tissue-a-cause-of-unnecessary-c-sections/
This is an article that should be categorized under “Who knew?” It is a very interesting article for anyone preparing for birth that helps you understand the effect of cervical scare tissue. It gives you plenty of information about what procedures could give you cervical scare tissue and what signs in labor indicate you might have it interfering with the delivery of your baby.
More resources
http://www.douladawn.com/cervical-scar-tissue-%E2%80%93-a-big-issue-that-no-one-is-talking-about-by-doula-dawn.htm
http://www.marketplace.org/topics/life/commentary/can-ignoring-medical-advice-hurt-your-wallet
This article sheds some light on the case of doctors or medical personnel stating that you (not insurance) will be responsible for the payment of hospital charges for anything that happens to you after leaving the hospital “against medical advice.” Thank goodness this claim is pronounced false. Hopefully this type of threat doesn’t occur in our Iowa hospitals.
Not one, or two, but THREE midwifery organizations have come together to write a consensus statement!
Supporting Healthy and Normal Physiologic Childbirth: A Consensus Statement by ACNM, MANA, and NACPM
This consensus statement is a push for the hospitals and obstetricians to introduce more normal childbirth practices to provide benefit to the mother and child. Anyone who has worked with midwives may be pretty familiar with these ideas presented. If you are interested in a normal (or more normal) childbirth, this is a good resource to use to help promote the care and environment you desire to obtain the best childbirth possible. If you have questions about the difference between a medical childbirth and a normal childbirth, consider coming to one of our meetings or join our forum to talk with several of our professionals and experienced mothers.
