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ICAN Mother Testifies

       on Capitol Hill

 

 

ICAN Mother Provides Testimony on Capitol Hill

Discriminatory Insurance Practices Investigated by Senate HELP Committee

 

 

REDONDO BEACH, CA, October 15, 2009 – Gretchen Humphries, Advocacy Director for the International Cesarean Awareness Network accompanied Peggy Robertson of Centennial, Colorado to a Senate hearing in the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee.

 

Ms. Robertson testified about her experiences with discriminatory insurance practices based on her history of cesarean. View her testimony here. Ms. Robertson was featured in a New York Times article in July 2008 after she was declined insurance due to her previous cesarean. She was informed by the insurance company that her application would be accepted if she agreed to be sterilized.

 

As of 2007, 31.8% of childbearing women in the United States had a cesarean delivery and the rate continues to increase each year. These increases are due, in part, to the growing number of women who are denied the opportunity to have a vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC) through similarly discriminatory VBAC bans. “The prospect of rendering a third of women uninsurable is frightening and unconscionable,” said Desirre Andrews, President of ICAN. “Many of these women are being pressured or bullied into first-time and repeat cesareans, and to doubly inflict them by leaving them without health insurance is offensive.” Clearly this type of practice potentially affects a very large number of women now and in the future as the cesarean rate continues to climb and the vaginal birth after cesarean rate continues to decline. 

 

 

read the rest of the story here 


Links to the Latest News

Articles:

Risks, Values, & Decision Making Surrounding Pregnancy

After Cesareans, Some See Higher Insurance Costs

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The Real Risks for Cesareans- An Expert Interview With Pamela K. Spry, BSN, MS, PhD.rtf

Web:

Continuous Support for Women During Childbirth

Current Resources for Evidence-Based Practice

Evidence-Based Maternity Care: What It Is and What It Can Achieve

What is a Certified Professional Midwife? (CPM)

Jennifer Block: Commentary on Home Birth

Consumer Reports: Overused Medical Interventions

Understanding Dangers of Cesareans

 

Studies:

Understanding Research Results.rtf

Cesareans Linked to Allergies & Asthma in Children

Benefits of Spontaneous Pushing

Doulas & Middle Class Couples (Cesarean & Epidural Use)

Prediction of Uterine Rupture

Obstetricians & Midwives Views on Cesareans

Delivery Method Affects Mother's Response to Baby

High-Tech Interventions Deliver Huge Childbirth Bill

Midwife Care vs. Obstetric Model

Primary VBAC Means More Vaginal Births For Mothers


DID YOU KNOW.......

  • The U.S. cesarean rate was 5.5% in 1970 and is now more than 31.1%.
  • Maternal and infant mortality are on the rise in this country due in part to the rise in cesareans.
  • A Health Grades report showed that patient choice primary cesareans were just over 2% in 2003.
  • Women are four times more likely to die as a result of a cesarean birth, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) in its July 31, 2003 press release called, Weighing the Pros and Cons of Cesarean Delivery."
  • The risk of death to a newborn delivered by cesarean to a low-risk woman is 1.77 deaths to 1,000 live births. The risk of death to a newborn delievered vaginally to a low-risk woman is only 0.62 per 1,000 live births.
  • Risks of uterine rupture are very rare...0.2% according to the British Medical Journal in a 2004 published review of more than 568 studies. They concluded that 370 elective cesarean deliveries would need to be performed to prevent one symptomatic uterine rupture.
  • Risks are accepted with out question in other areas of birth: Amniocentesis (1-1.5% miscarriage rate and 1% chance of other pregnancy complications- infection, premature labor, injury to the fetus, cord, or placenta, and rupture of membranes).

 

Download What Every Woman Needs to Know about Cesarean Section

Compare Risks of Vaginal Birth and Cesareans

 

 

For further info contact us at icanofrichmond@yahoo.com