Hospitals Statistics About Childbirths

I recommend Dr. Dwight at Good Samaratin. I had my first two at birthing centers, but I decided to have this one at a hospital so I could use insurance and have a rest after the birth! He has a very low c-section rate and he is one of the few Doctors that will perform, and actually recommends VBACs. I really like him and I have no worries that he will interfere with my birth.

I've heard it's very hard to get truthful statistics from the hospitals themselves. They do not want to give out that information. You kind of have to ask around and hear the stories from other women. I found out that Verdugo Hills rarely supports any kind of natural anything, so I switched at the last minute to Glendale Adventist. It seemed to have a much more relaxed atmosphere. But truthfully from what I am coming to understand, very few hospitals or doctors will just leave you alone to birth as nature intended! Have you considered a home birth or a birth center? At the very least hire a doula and with her help stay home as long as possible while you're in labor! The sooner you get to a hospital the sooner they start hooking you up to things and pushing interventions on you. Good luck!!

Dr. Kim Reyes delivers at St. Josephs in Burbank and encourages natural childbirths. The most important thing, though, is that you are very clear with the nurses. My first nurse was great, the night nurse, not so much. She kept asking if I wanted a sleeping pill for the night, told me I couldn't have the baby put on my chest to nurse until after she was cleaned up, etc. I was just firm and my husband made it very clear to her what we were going to do and that we already had Dr. Reyes' agreement. You and your husband just need to be VERY clear. This is all assuming no complications.

I think you should be looking at your doctors statistics, rather than the hospitals. SOmetimes a hospital may be known for their neonatal unit, and so they deliver more difficult, or complicated cases - thus the higher c-section percentage. If that is the case, you are not comparing apples to apples. Talk to your doctor about your preferences, and your concerns - and check out the hospital for it overall safety ratings, and availability of anesthesiologists on call instead.

K.

I don't live in the US so our stats aren't quite the same, but close. I was very concered about where I was going to deliver as I wanted and planned a natural delivery. We actually opted out of a traditional hospital setting and used a midwife run clinic within a small town community hospital. If I had needed a c-section I would have had to been transfered...and their rates of transfer were very low.

I don't know if you have watched The Business of Being born http://www.thebusinessofbeingborn.com/
but if you haven't, it is a great watch. I truly believe that the amount of required medical intervention during birth has been severely exagerated due to profit margins and ease of performing elective surgery. I also think more people research the car they are going to buy than they do where, with who and how they will birth their child. But, like other moms have said, sometimes you do need help...sometimes....so be willing to be flexible...but don't be scared or intimidated into more interventions that you might actually need. I hope you have an amazing birth!

In LA most hospitals post their c-section rate on their website on the obstetrics page. For example, at Cedars (where I will NOT be having my baby, it's listed at (http://www.csmc.edu/11154.html) an on other sites. However, you have to be careful about a hospitals rate, because each doctor has their own rate - I've asked them, but since they're not required to report those statistics, you have to take their word for it. If you want natural childbirth, I'd ask around - a number of friends/acquaintences were able to point me to doctors (mostly women) who will support natural childbirth. However, I would investigate home birth or birthing in a center. There are a number of practitioners in LA. Also, you should read My Best Birth and watch the Business of Being Born for some perspective on the issue. I've only had one friend in LA who's had a natural childbirth - though many of the others wanted one.

Just keep in mind that statistics like that can be skewed. A certain hospital might have a higher than average number of c-sections, but maybe it's because that hospital specializes in high-risk deliveries such as multiple births, breach babies, diabetic mothers... Be careful about your research--I think it might be wise to focus on the reputation of your doctor more than the reputation of the hospital.

Hope this helps!

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Hello Maren. I'm not sure where exactly you would find those statistics, but I just wanted to say that it is your choice, and unless there is a medical emergency for inducing or having a C-section, your wants and needs are of the utmost importance at this point in your pregnancy. Make sure that your OB knows that you want to deliver naturally and is on board with you, and you should be fine. I've not had an issue with this with any of my three, EXCEPT with my last one (earlier this year). One of the nurses on duty asked me about four times if I wanted to have an epidural, and then asked why not when I told her I didn't (even after my birth plan was distributed!!). She finally got the hint after I got a little testy with her (who wants to argue when they are in pain? lol) and left me alone about it. Other than that, I've been able to have my babies "my" way. :) Best of luck to you.!!!

Maren,
You should find out about the doctor and his or her c-section rate. When I was pregnant with my first, I was so concerned with having the perfect birth experience, no intervention, a birth plan, a doula, and a female OB. The truth is that the experience was far from perfect, I had a difficult labor, had to be induced after 3 days of trying to do it narutally because I wasn't dialating, and was in so much pain, even after the epidural wore off, I pushed for 3 hours. Believe me, things are never what we plan for. The truth is, the doctor has to do their job, so find someone you feel good about, trust them and in the process. The most important thing is that the baby is born safe and healthy. I would spend your energy figuring out what you're going to do right after the birth, who is going to help you, if you're going to nurse, talk to lactation consultants now, just in case you have trouble later, which I did. I wish someone would have told me what I am telling you now. Save your energy for the birth and the postpartum. You will be tired! I swore I would never have another baby again! But I did, and the second time, I just trust the doctor 100%, and it was much easier. Best of luck to you, hope I didn't scare you, but the I felt the truth had to be told.

I would pay more attention to the statistics of the DOCTOR not the hospital. The doctor will dictate the type of delivery more than the hospital. Also, some hospitals with neo-natal intensive care units and extensive experience with at risk births will naturally deliver more births by cesarean, but that doesn't mean they are less equipped or able to provide facilities for natural and water births.

The hospital I gave birth to my son in had a very high rate of c-section births. I ended up having one myself, but this was because my water broke and 4 days passed and still I had no contractions, they had me on pitocin to induce labor for over 12hrs which failed to produce any productive contractions. They finally did the c-section because they began to worry about infection and our heart rates (my baby and mine) began to fluctuate a bit. So even though I needed a c-section they still waited as long as possible before coming to the decision to perform one.