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New York is Performing Many Unnecessary Cesarean Sections
Public Citizen Launches Online Report With County, Hospital-Specific Information
WHAT: Telephone news conference to discuss results of a new Public Citizen report, “Guide to Avoiding Unnecessary Cesarean Sections in New York State.”
New York, one of two states that provide intervention rates for all obstetric procedures at the facility level, has a higher cesarean rate than the nation as a whole.
Public Citizen’s online report features individual hospital statistics separated by county, breaking down the results by overall and primary C-sections, vaginal births after cesareans (VBAC) and the percentage of deliveries attended by midwives for each hospital. The report also discusses ways of avoiding unnecessary cesarean sections, including increased use of midwives.
Nationally, C-sections are being performed now more than ever. Cesareans have skyrocketed from 10.4 percent of deliveries in 1975 to a record 31.8 percent in 2007.
WHEN: 11 a.m. EDT, Wednesday, April 21
WHO: Speaking at the conference:
* Sidney Wolfe, M.D., director of Public Citizen’s Health Research Group
* Jacques Moritz, M.D., an Obstetrician at Roosevelt Hospital, New York City
* Susannah Donahue-Negbaur, CNM, MPH, a midwife at Roosevelt Hospital
* A woman who has had a vaginal delivery attended by a midwife after a
previous cesarean section (VBAC)
Statement to be read at the conference:
Howard Minkoff, M.D., chief of obstetrics and gynecology at Maimonides Hospital, Brooklyn
CALL-IN: Call toll-free: 1-800-377-8846, passcode 82173045#
