Birthing facts and statistics

Originally published 25 February 2013.

Reliable statistics on labor and birth are surprisingly hard to find. Here are the best I have so far.

More than a third of births in the United States are done by cesarean section surgery.

• From 1996 to 2007, the rate of cesarean surgery increased by 53%.
• Most 'urgent' cesareans happen during the day, not at night.
  • Conflicting theories to explain this include: involvement of women's natural circadian rhythms, and the theory that doctors don't want to work during suppertime.
• Some estimates say that half of all cesareans are medically unnecessary, and only the rare few are elective
• Fewer than 10% of births to women who have previously undergone a cesarean are vaginal births. In 1994, that number was greater than 26%.
  • more than 80% of women who have previously undergone a cesarean are estimated to be in fine shape for future vaginal births.

More than 80% of women are given drugs to either speed up or induce labor

• the drug most often used to speed up or induce labor is Pitocin, a synthetic form of oxytocin
• Pitocin-induced labor involves more intense uterine contractions than natural labor, where oxytocin is not released in such a steady dose
• Pitocin can restrict blood flow to the uterus, which increases the risk of further complications and medical interventions
• with an IV drip and fetal monitoring device, these women are either totally or partially restricted in movement, which exaggerates the pain

86% of women are given some form of pain medication to deal with painful contractions

• 76% of all women are given either epidural anesthetic or spinal analgesia for the pain
• epidural anesthetic removes the woman's body's ability to respond to the sensations labor
• 41% of women given epidural anesthetic feel a strong need to 'push', while 77% of women undergoing natural births feel that sensation.
• an anesthetized woman in labor becomes further immobile, which means she cannot easily assume a natural position for labor
• epidural anesthetic can sometimes cause a drop in the mother's blood pressure, requiring intervention
• 1/4 of all women report walking around sometime after being admitted to hospital
• the numbing effect of the epidural anesthetic generally increases the amount of time required for labor
• longer labor time increases the chances that the doctor will perform a cesarean surgery, use forceps or a vacuum suction, and/or cut the vagina (i.e. an episiotomy) to enable the easier extraction of the fetus

Intra-venous pain medication given to the mother during labor crosses into the blood stream into the fetus, increasing the chance of side-effects in the newborn, including:

• low blood pressure in either or both the child and the mother
• drowsiness and drug-induced cognitive underperformance in newborn for up to several days after birth
• increased chance that the newborn will require medical resuscitation upon birth, due to difficulty breathing
• increased chance of the newborn having liver or kidney problems due to metabolizing the medications
• inability to properly breastfeed, due to residual narcotics in breast milk, and the medicated baby's inability to properly latch to the breast.