Re: VBAC revisited
From: Garry E. Siegel, M.D. (garrys@mindspring.com)
Wed Jul 9 19:30:55 2003
Agree with all said--stick to your guns.
If the hospital/L and D people/yada yada don't like your consent, well,
do it and keep a copy in the office chart. For VBACs with whom you have
no office chart (i.e. ER drop-ins, or other docs's patients you cover),
execute the consent on the spot, and simply make an office chart for
that expressed purpose.
Garry
At Wed, 9 Jul 2003, art fougner, md wrote:
>
>the only reason i did not suggest involving your malpractice carrier is
>that their risk management department might conclude that YOU practice
>in an unsafe environment and either drop you or raise your premiums.
>
>art
>
>At Wed, 9 Jul 2003, Efrain Ramirez wrote:
>>
>>My advice that on the first prenatal visit you tell your patients that
>>you are not doing VBAC's because of the situation at your institution
>>.. period - I agree with Ron that you should get your malpractice
>>carrier involved.. good luck.
>>
>>- - At Wed, 9 Jul 2003, guy venezia wrote:
>>>
>>>Believe it or not, I posted a very frustraing VBAC situation here last
>>>month.
>>>I work about 40 miles outside of chicago in a community of 50,000 pop.
>>>Our hospital pushes VBACs, but will not supply in house anesthesia or in
>>>house surgical team. If a rupture occurs, we have to call in
>>>anesthesia, the surgical team and peds. This takes at least 30 mins to
>>>get the baby delivered.
>>>Thus, on my potential VBACs, I document a discussion with the patient on
>>>availability of anesthesia, surgery and peds.
>>>I notify them of the potential time delay, especially on the weekends if
>>>an emergency occurs.
>>>Well, risk management was up in arms for this documentation. I was
>>>called in by a retired ob/gyn to review my VBAC policy and
>>>documentation. I was told the L&D nurses were upset at my informed
>>>consent and that it will persuade women out of VBACs. I was also told
>>>that this was too much documantation. I was also told that the hospital
>>>is rewarded for VBACs and low C/S rates!!
>>>Can you believe the pressure and deliberate persistance on VBACs by
>>>admin. I suggested making more resources available, especially on the
>>>weekend when nobody is in house. They stated they could not afford to
>>>have anesth and surgery available 24/7 because of the financial cost.
>>>Any Thoughts??
>>>Guy Venezia, M.D.
>>>>-----Original Message-----
>>>>From: Garry E. Siegel, M.D. [mailto:garrys@mindspring.com]
>>>>Sent: Tuesday, July 08, 2003 6:31 PM
>>>>To: Multiple recipients of list OB-GYN-L
>>>>Subject: Re: VBAC revisited
>>>>
>>>>Um, what is Frankenstein's law?
>>>>
>>>>Garry
>>>>
>>>>At Tue, 8 Jul 2003, Braun, R. Daniel wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>Boy that is the truth.
>>>>>Dan
>>>>>
>>>>>-----Original Message-----
>>>>>From: art fougner, md [mailto:evsono@pipeline.com]
>>>>>Sent: Tuesday, July 08, 2003 7:43 AM
>>>>>To: Multiple recipients of list OB-GYN-L
>>>>>Subject: Re: VBAC revisited
>>>>>
>>>>>Joe
>>>>>
>>>>>looks as though Frankenstein's Law applies here.
>>>>>
>>>>>art
>>>>>
>>>>>At Tue, 8 Jul 2003, DoctorJoe@aol.com wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>In a message dated 7/8/03 06:42:40, rbraun@iupui.edu writes:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Hence the need to teach our residents how to use forceps correctly.
>>>>>>> Dan
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> <snip>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Hence the view of many that preventing that primary CS is key.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Lynne Loeffler, CNM, JD
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>Well, just add THIS news story to the mix.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>Joe P.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>--
>>>>>>
>>>>>>CIMS Alarmed By Highest US Cesarean Rate Ever
>>>>>>
>>>>>>PONTE VEDRA, Fla., July 8 /PRNewswire/ -- The Coalition for Improving
>>>>>>Maternity Services (CIMS) views with alarm the Centers for Disease
>>>>>Control's report
>>>>>>that the 2002 cesarean rate reached 26.1%, the highest rate ever for
>>>>>the U.S.
>>>>>>The World Health Organization states that a cesarean rate greater than
>>>>>10-15%
>>>>>>cannot be justified.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>"One in four women giving birth by major abdominal surgery is
>>>>difficult
>>>>>to
>>>>>>defend," said Deborah Woolley, CNM, Ph.D., CIMS' Chairperson. "For
>>>>>example,
>>>>>>there has been no decline in cerebral palsy or shoulder dystocia
>>>>>associated with
>>>>>>the rise in this operation. Furthermore, studies show that healthy
>>>>>women, who
>>>>>>should rarely need operative delivery, undergo a large percentage of
>>>>>the
>>>>>>cesarean sections performed in the U.S."
>>>>>>
>>>>>>According to The Coalition for Improving Maternity Services, the
>>>>>overuse of
>>>>>>cesarean section poses considerable danger to the health and
>>>>well-being
>>>>>of
>>>>>>mothers and babies. Compared with vaginal birth, maternal risks
>>>>include
>>>>>increased
>>>>>>risk of death, surgical injury, infection, hemorrhage, deep venous
>>>>>clots, and
>>>>>>pulmonary embolism. Women are more likely to experience pain and poor
>>>>>health
>>>>>>after birth, and to require readmission to the hospital. Women having
>>>>>unplanned
>>>>>>cesareans are more likely to suffer post-partum depression or
>>>>>post-traumatic
>>>>>>stress syndrome.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>Otherwise healthy babies born by cesarean are more likely to need
>>>>>assistance
>>>>>>with breathing, be admitted to intensive care for breathing problems,
>>>>>and to
>>>>>>develop persistent pulmonary hypertension, a life threatening
>>>>>complication.
>>>>>>Mothers are more likely to have difficulty forming an attachment to
>>>>>their infant
>>>>>>and to breastfeed.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>Long-term and reproductive hazards of cesarean section include chronic
>>>>>pelvic
>>>>>>pain or bowel problems, infertility, ectopic pregnancy, miscarriage,
>>>>>>premature birth, placenta previa (the placenta overlays the cervix),
>>>>>placental
>>>>>>abruption (the placenta detaches before the birth), and uterine
>>>>>rupture. The risk of
>>>>>>uterine rupture is 1 in 500 even with planned repeat cesarean versus 1
>>>>>in
>>>>>>10,000 with an unscarred uterus.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>Besides improving maternal-infant health, reducing the cesarean rate
>>>>to
>>>>>an
>>>>>>appropriate level would save the national health care system over $2
>>>>>billion
>>>>>>annually.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>The rise in cesarean rate is attributable both to the rise in first
>>>>>>cesareans, now at 18%, also a new high, and the precipitous fall in
>>>>the
>>>>>percentage of
>>>>>>vaginal births after cesarean (VBACs). CIMS is especially concerned
>>>>>about the
>>>>>>ongoing increase in first cesareans because most women having a first
>>>>>cesarean
>>>>>>will go on to have more despite the fact that elective repeat cesarean
>>>>>section
>>>>>>is more hazardous for the mother and not any safer for the baby.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>Each subsequent cesarean incrementally increases the likelihood of
>>>>most
>>>>>>cesarean-related complications, including placenta accreta, (the
>>>>>placenta invades
>>>>>>the uterus resulting in massive hemorrhage at the delivery). The
>>>>>American
>>>>>>College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists attributes the 10-fold
>>>>>increase in this
>>>>>>deadly complication over the last decades to the rise in cesareans.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>While uterine rupture is slightly more likely with planned vaginal
>>>>>birth (5
>>>>>>per 1,000 versus 2 per 1,000 for a repeat cesarean), newborn outcomes
>>>>>do not
>>>>>>differ. With appropriate care, 7 out of 10 women or more laboring
>>>>after
>>>>>a
>>>>>>cesarean will birth vaginally.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>The decline in the VBAC rate has come about through obstetricians
>>>>>>discouraging and outright refusing VBAC, a reversal of policy deplored
>>>>>by CIMS. Denial of
>>>>>>VBAC forces thousands of women into having major operations they
>>>>>neither want
>>>>>>nor need.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>A free copy of The Risks of Cesarean Delivery to Mother and Baby, a
>>>>>CIMS Fact
>>>>>>Sheet, is available from http://www.motherfriendly.org.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>SOURCE Coalition for Improving Maternity Services
>>>>>>
>>>>>>CO: Coalition for Improving Maternity Services
>>>>>>
>>>>>>ST: Florida
>>>>>>
>>>>>>SU: WOM
>>>>>>
>>>>>>Web site: http://www.motherfriendly.org
>>>>>>
>>>>>>http://www.prnewswire.com
>>>>>>
>>>>>>07/08/2003 00:01 EDT
>>>>>>
>>>>>--
>>>>>art fougner, md
>>>>>ich bin ein New Yorker
>>>>>
>>>>--
>>>>Garry E. Siegel, M.D.
>>>>Private Practice
>>>>Roswell, GA
>>>>
>>>--
>>>guy
>>>
>>--
>>"The opposite of a correct statement is a false statement.
>>But the opposite of a profound truth may well be another profound truth."
>>
>>Niels Bohr (1885 - 1962)
>>
>--
>art fougner, md
>ich bin ein New Yorker
>
--
Garry E. Siegel, M.D.
Private Practice
Roswell, GA