Staggering Cesarean Section Numbers

Across the state of Connecticut Cesarean Section birth numbers have been increasing steadily with the national average, as well as sit above the national average right now at 34.6% as of 2007.
While I have not obtained the percentage rates I would like for cesarean sections at individual hospitals, I have obtained the number of cesarean sections that they are doing annually. At least for the time frame of January 1, 2007 - December 31, 2007. While the numbers would be much more effective and understandable with the total number of births that took place at these facilities during this time period (which I am currently working on obtaining) these numbers make a bold statement themselves. I have highlighted the highest numbers in Red, also something to note with these hospitals is they are larger city facilities.
Hospitals highlighted in blue are hospitals with current VBAC bans.

Bridgeport Hospital - 1012 Cesarean Sections
Bristol Hospital - 201 Cesarean Sections
Charlotte Hungerford Hospital - 171 Cesarean Sections
Danbury Hospital - 736 Cesarean Sections
Day Kimball Hospital - 149 Cesarean Sections
Greenwich Hospital - 814 Cesarean Sections (Note : Large Cesarean rate, not a large city)
Griffin Hospital - 247 Cesarean Sections
Hartford Hospital - 1554 Cesarean Sections
Hospital of St. Raphael - 463 Cesarean Sections
John Dempsey Hospital - 370 Cesarean Sections
Johnson Memorial Hospital - 87 Cesarean Sections
Lawrence and Memorial Hospital - 673 Cesarean Sections
Manchester Memorial Hospital - 296 Cesarean Sections
Middlesex Memorial Hospital - 441 Cesarean Sections
Midstate Medical Center - 333 Cesarean Sections
Milford Hospital - 203 Cesarean Sections
New Milford Hospital - 104 Cesarean Sections
Norwalk Hospital - 519 Cesarean Sections
Rockville General Hospital - 117 Cesarean Sections
Saint Francis Hospital - 904 Cesarean Sections
Saint Mary's Hospital - 386 Cesarean Sections
Saint Vincent's Medical Center - 539 Cesarean Sections
Sharon Hospital - 75 Cesarean Sections
Stamford Hospital - 1002 Cesarean Sections
The Hospital of Central Connecticut - 611 Cesarean Sections
Waterbury Hospital - 472 Cesarean Sections
William W. Backus Hospital - 318 Cesarean Sections
Windham Community Memoral Hospital - 129 Cesarean Sections
Yale New Haven Hospital - 1591 Cesarean Sections

Shortly I will have the total number of births that took place at these hospitals so that we can make a percent so see how these hospitals really rank.
I hope this information is able to help you, as well as mothers looking for a place to birth their baby, if they are making the choice for a hospital birth.

US gets D on premature Birth Report Card

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The odds of having a premature baby are lowest in Vermont and highest in Mississippi.

The March of Dimes mapped the stark state-by-state disparities in what it called a "report card" on prematurity Wednesday -- to track progress toward meeting a federal goal of lowering preterm births.

There's not much chance of meeting that goal by the original 2010 deadline, if the "D" grade the charity bestowed on the nation is any indication.

More than half a million U.S. babies -- one in every eight -- are born prematurely each year, a toll that's risen steadily for two decades. The government's goal: No more than 7.6 percent of babies born before completion of the 37th week of pregnancy.

Preterm birth can affect any mother-to-be, stressed a recent U.S. Surgeon General's meeting on the problem. Scientists don't understand all the complex causes.

But Wednesday's report highlights big geographic differences that March of Dimes president Dr. Jennifer Howse called "a dash of cold water."

In Vermont, 9 percent of babies were preemies in 2005, the latest available data. In Oregon and Connecticut, just under 10.5 percent of babies were premature.

Travel south, and prematurity steadily worsens: In West Virginia, 14.4 percent of babies were preemies; more than 15 percent in Kentucky and South Carolina; more than 16 percent in Alabama and Louisiana; and a high of 18.8 percent in Mississippi. March of Dimes: See full chart

The report urges states to address three factors that play a role:

• Lack of insurance, which translates into missed or late prenatal care. In states with the highest prematurity rates, at least one in five women of childbearing age are uninsured. Early prenatal care can identify risks for preterm labor and sometimes lower them.

• Smoking increases the risks of prematurity, low birthweight and birth defects. Government figures suggest 17 percent of women smoke during pregnancy. The new report urged targeting smoking by all women of childbearing age. About a third of those women smoke in Louisiana and West Virginia, the report says, compared with 9.3 percent and 11 percent in Utah and California, respectively.

• Then there's the trickier issue of so-called late preemies, babies born between 34 and 37 weeks. They're fueling the nation's prematurity rise. While not as devastating as a baby born months early, being even a few weeks early can cause learning or behavioral delays and other problems. And recent research suggests at least some near-term babies are due to Caesarean sections scheduled before full-term, either deliberately or because of confusion about the fetus's exact age.

Howse urged hospitals to double-check that women given an early C-section truly need one for a medical problem, as current health guidelines recommend.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/family/11/12/premature.birth.rate.ap/index.html