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SOME of the state’s biggest private hospitals are performing caesareans on more than half the women giving birth …
The caesarean rates among the highest in the country were uncovered in hospital birth statistics from 2007-2010 obtained by The Sunday Mail under Right to Information laws.
Queensland’s “caesars palace” was the North West Brisbane Private Hospital, which performed the surgery on 56.8 per cent of women giving birth. Toowoomba’s St Vincent’s Hospital and The Wesley Hospital in Brisbane rounded out the Top 3, with rates of 54.8 per cent and 51.8 per cent respectively.
The latest figures … will reignite the turf war between midwives, who espouse natural birth, and obstetricians who defend surgical intervention.
Caesarean births are recommended as safer options for women having large babies, twins or breech births, as well as older mums and women who have had previous caesareans.
Latest recommendations from Canada suggest that vaginal birth is safest for most breech babies. NSW Health promotes vaginal birth for twins and of course we know that vaginal birth after a caesarean is safer than elective repeat caesarean provided that the birth takes place in a facility that has resources available to perform an emergency caesarean if needed. And “big” babies? This cannot be known with any accuracy ahead of time and the current recommendation is for a planned vaginal birth.
But some critics say growing numbers of medical professionals are convincing mothers to undergo caesareans just to streamline private maternity ward schedules and maximise revenue.
Across the state the figures add weight to the theory, with caesareans accounting for 27.6 per cent of births in public hospitals and a huge 48.3 per cent in private hospitals.
We know that this difference is not comprised of women requesting caesareans: only 2-3% women actually request a caesarean. Most are told they “need” a caesarean because their baby is “big” (3.3Kg), “late” at 39 weeks and 6 days, a previous caesarean, breech, twins, IVF, mum is “overweight”, mildly elevated blood pressure (130/80) and so on. I have heard all of these and more, as “valid” reasons for caesarean.
Several new mothers approached by The Sunday Mail last week said they had been pushed into having caesareans by private hospital obstetricians after initially wanting to give birth naturally.
One Coolum mum, 45, said her obstetrician told her she had “no choice” because the baby would “not fit through my birthing canal”.
This can not be known ahead of time. The only way to find out is to labour and see how it goes. Dedicated, exclusive, one-to-one midwifery care in labour from a midwife who is know to the woman by name and trusted by the woman, is the most important factor in ensuring a normal birth.
… “I just wanted a natural birth, to me that was important …
I think personal responsibility also plays a part here. If a woman genuinely wants a natural birth, she needs to consider which care provider will maximise her chances of achieving this. Consumers of any service are wise to research options thoroughly before they go ahead with them. We do more research about buying a car, house or holiday than we do when choosing our care providers. Having chosen an ill-suited care provider, it is never too late to change.
Another mum … desperate to avoid a caesarean, said her obstetrician also tried to book an induction because she had passed her due date in the Christmas-New Year period.
“The obstetrician said we can book you in for an induction because we just don’t like calling people in on public holidays,” …
But doctors point the finger at today’s “too posh to push” mothers, who they say demand caesars, as well as older mothers who have an added risk with vaginal births.
Australian College of Midwives spokeswoman Professor Jenny Gamble said the health system was driven by profit.
“It’s all about less night disturbance and more throughput; it all comes down to money,” she said. “It’s a fee-for-service model the more women obstetricians see, the more they earn.”
Australian Medical Association Queensland president Dr Gino Pecoraro rejected as “urban myth” claims that obstetricians earned more for caesarean births.
Private Hospitals Association Queensland said birthing decisions were not made by the hospital.
This is true: hospitals do not make any decisions about birth: those decisions are made by the doctor and patient. As we have read in this article, many of the decisions are “guided” by the doctor. The other factor in these escalating caesarean rates is litigation. When caesarean rates increase and doctors are reluctant to attend VBACs, the caesarean rate will automatically increase.
Not all doctors have high caesarean rates and some are very supportive of normal birth BUT … if a woman genuinely wants a normal birth, the best advice is to go a normal birth specialist.