The Coalition for Improving Maternity Services (CIMS) has launched a new project to gather rates of obstetric interventions in hospitals and birth centers from all 50 states. What a wonderful idea! Women deserve to have access to accurate information on rates of procedures such as cesarean section, induction/augmentation of labor, and episiotomies. In addition, providing information on obstetric interventions is one of the ten requirements for a hospital, birth center, or home birth service to qualify as Mother-Friendly (see page 3 of the download). If you'd like to participate in gathering this information, please click here for more information.
This will make a wonderful addition to ICAN's ongoing efforts to gather information on VBAC policies of all U.S. hospitals.
now that kind of easy access to data by the public, real transparency should shake things up a bit. This kind of action facilitates the seeds of change.
ReplyDeleteThis is true! However, I have read that MANA has been collecting data about home birth since 2004 (I think it was) and plans on releasing this collection at the end of 2008 to organizations who are members of MANA (or something like that).
ReplyDeleteDoes someone here know more about this and can explain this to me? It's disconcerting if this is true though I cannot find anywhere on the 2006 report to NARM that he findings will be public, quite the contrary. Am I misreading?
maria.
I just wanted to clarify that the Birth Survey Transparency Project is actually being undertaken by CIMS, not Citizens for Midwifery. We have leadership in common and CfM is a CIMS member, but this project is an initiative and project of CIMS.
ReplyDeleteBest wishes,
Molly Remer
CfM Board
Molly, thanks for the clarification. I'll edit the original post.
ReplyDeleteMaria, I have heard that about MANA and I don't have any more information on it. I suggest writing to MANA about the birth data and asking what they plan to do with it.