Thursday, October 23, 2008

Grassroots Network: New Infant Mortality Stats & Comparisons, and C-section death in Boston

Dear Friends,

A maternal death resulting from a cesarean section was reported in Boston, a very sad event. You can read a report here.

This event and the report are a reminder that women are 4 times as likely to die in connection with a cesarean compared to the risk of death with a vaginal birth. Another reason the work for changes in maternity care.

The CDC has just issued a new report: “Recent Trends in Infant Mortality in the United States” which you can find here. The report includes many bar graphs, and includes international comparisons, demonstrating the US’s poor standing. You can also read the excellent New York Times article on this report.

After reading these, all I can think about is how widespread use of the Midwives Model of Care would result in more healthy, living mothers and more healthy, full term, full weight living infants…

Sincerely,
Susan Hodges “gatekeeper”

1 comment:

Amy Tuteur, MD said...

Once again you are deliberately attempting to mislead people. Infant mortality is not a measure of obstetric care; it is a measure of pediatric care. The correct measure of obstetric care is perinatal mortality, and according to the World Health Organization 2006 report on perinatal mortality, the US has one of the lowest perinatal mortality rates in the world, lower than Denmark, the UK and the Netherlands.

This is yet another of the deliberate distortions that homebirth midwives propagate. The truth does not serve your purposes, so you substitute the truth with a deception. That is unethical behavior.