Massachusetts' Wicked High Cesarean Rates
Thursday, February 26, 2009 at 11:38PMThe most frequent reason that Cesareans are performed at Melrose-Wakefield Hospital in Melrose, Massachusetts is because the baby is too large or due to the shape of the woman’s pelvis, according to a medical official interviewed by the Melrose Free Press. The hospital’s Cesarean rate was released this month— 43.7%. It is the second highest in the state and one of six Massachusetts hospitals with a rate over 40%.
Bernard Logan, chief of Obstetrics and Gynecology for Hallmark Health System told a Melrose Free Press reporter that most medical organizations do not declare an ideal C-section rate as they did “in the past.” He claims that with the lower rates, there might have been some Cesareans that should have been performed but were not.
According to Logan, Hallmark Health officials have realized over the past four years that they have a higher C-section rate than most other Massachusetts hospitals yet Logan cites excellent outcomes for mothers and babies.
“We have not heard any concerns from our patient population that they thought they were rushing into a cesarean section,” he said. “We are only trying to get the best outcome for the mother and baby.”
Melrose-Wakefield Hospital instituted a ban on VBAC in 2004.
Logan explained the high c-section rate as resulting from a combination of many “clear cut indications”:
As far as standard, non-emergency C-sections go, Logan said there are “clear cut indications that there’s no doubt about,” which indicate an expectant mother should deliver by C-section. Those indications could be anything from the baby presenting feet-first in a breech position to the mother suffering from extensive internal bleeding.
The most frequent reason for a C-section, Logan said, is simply because the baby is too large to be delivered vaginally, or because the shape of woman’s pelvis makes it safer and easier to deliver by C-section.
“The feeling of the physician staff and practice staff is if we could have a safe vaginal delivery, that’s our aim, but if there’s any risk to the mother or baby, we’re more apt to go for a cesarean section for the safety of both,” Logan said.
Also, older expectant mothers are more likely to have medical conditions such as high blood pressure or diabetes, Logan said, which could also make it more likely that a C-section would be performed.
[Emphasis mine]
Thirty-two of the 50 Massachusetts licensed maternity facilities documented in the report had a Cesarean rate of 30% or higher. According to the Free Press article, the Massachusetts c-section rate increased from 20% to 33.7% between 1997 and 2007 and Dr. Lauren Smith, medical director of the Massachusetts DPH, said the increase isn’t necessarily because of more elective C-sections.
The full listing of Massachusetts Cesarean rates is listed at the bottom of this post.
File a Complaint Against Hallmark Health System for Unnecessary Cesarean or VBAC Ban
Examples— If you were denied a VBAC or if you were sectioned for a suspected large baby and the baby weighed less than 8 lbs., 14 oz. at birth.
From Hallmark Health System’s Web site:
HHS is surveyed by the JCAHO (Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations) every three years. The JCAHO provides hospitals with survey guidelines and standards that must be achieved in order to become and remain a successfully accredited organization. The process focuses on systems critical to the safety and quality of care, treatment, and services provided by the hospitals. HHS received accreditation in June 2003 and will be surveyed again in 2006. The survey for 2006 will be unannounced but any member of the public wishing to communicate a quality of care or safety concern about HHS is welcome to contact the JCAHO at the following:
Email: complaint@jcaho.org
Fax: Office of Quality Monitoring
(630) 792-5636
Mail: Office of Quality Monitoring
Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations
One Renaissance Blvd.
Oakbrook Terrace, IL 60181
Or for directions from the JCAHO regarding how to file a complaint, call:
1-800-994-6610 between 8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Central Standard Time.
Massachusetts Cesarean Support and Midwifery Resources
International Cesarean Awareness Network
ICAN of Eastern Massachusetts
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/ICANofEMASS/
Massachusetts Midwives Alliance
Massachusetts Friends of Midwives
Massachusetts Friends of Midwives—Advocacy Blog
http://mfomnews.wordpress.com/
Birth Network of Greater Boston
http://birthnetworkboston.wordpress.com/
Massachusetts (Nurse) Midwives
Massachusetts Coalition for Midwifery
http://www.nursemidwivesinmass.org/MCM.html
Other Resources
The Mommy Uprising – Article by Tina Cassidy in Boston Magazine
Eugene R. Declercq, PhD, Professor of Maternal and Child Health, Boston University School of Public Health
Cesarean Section Rates by Licensed Maternity Facility
From Table 13 of the Massachusetts Births 2007 report published by the Mass Department of Public Health in February 2009.
South Shore Hospital - Weymouth 44.3
Melrose-Wakefield Hospital - Melrose 43.7
Caritas Holy Family Hospital & Medical Ctr-Methuen 42.9
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center - Boston 42.0
Metrowest Medical Center- FUC- Framingham 41.8
Caritas St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center of Boston 40.4
Brockton Hospital - Brockton 39.9
Caritas Good Samaritan Medical Center - Brockton 39.7
Caritas Norwood Hospital - Norwood 39.7
Milford Regional Medical Center - Milford 38.9
Tufts-New England Medical Center Hospital - Boston 37.7
Emerson Hospital - Concord 37.5
Newton Wellesley Hospital - Newton 37.2
Falmouth Hospital - Falmouth 36.3
Sturdy Memorial Hospital - Attleboro 35.9
Winchester Hospital - Winchester 35.3
Harrington Memorial Hospital - Southbridge 35.2
Saints Memorial Medical Ctr.-St. John’s Campus - Lowell 35.2
Brigham And Women’s Hospital - Boston 34.1
Charlton Memorial Hospital Fall River 33.7
Lawrence General Hospital - Lawrence 33.5
Morton Hospital - Taunton 33.5
Massachusetts General Hospital - Boston 32.7
Beverly Hospital - Beverly 32.4
Jordan Hospital - Plymouth 32.1
Lowell General Hospital - Lowell 32.0
St. Luke’s Hospital New - Bedford 31.7
Baystate Medical Center - Springfield 31.4
Martha’s Vineyard Hospital - Oak Bluffs 31.1
Berkshire Medical Center - Pittsfield 30.9
Boston Medical Center - Boston 30.9
North Shore Medical Center - Salem Hospital - Salem 30.4
Anna Jaques Hospital - Newburyport 29.5
Cape Cod Hospital - Barnstable 29.5
Cambridge Hospital - Cambridge 29.1
Nantucket Cottage Hospital - Nantucket 29.1
Baystate Mary Lane Hospital - Ware 28.9
Saint Vincent Hospital - Worcester 28.7
Other Hospitals 28.6
Fairview Hospital Great - Barrington 27.8
Mercy Medical Center - Springfield 27.7
Mount Auburn Hospital - Cambridge 27.5
Cooley Dickinson Hospital - Northampton 27.3
UMASS Memorial Medical Center - West - Worcester 27.3
Leominster Hospital - Leominster 24.7
North Adams Regional Hospital - North Adams 22.5
Franklin Medical Center – Greenfield 21.2
Holyoke Hospital - Holyoke 19.2
Heywood Memorial Hospital - Gardner 18.8
Tobey Hospital - Wareham 17.1
Home, En route & Dr. Off. 1.2
Cambridge Birth Center – Cambridge 0.0
North Shore Birth Center - Beverly 0.0
Reader Comments (2)
I found your blog when I was Googling around for complaints against Melrose-Wakefield Hospital. Our issue has nothing to do with maternity issues...my husband is in there and the care he is receiving is atrocious, they are trying to push some surgery for tumors that are not there, all the while barely doing anything to treat the condition for which I brought him in. So it shouldn't surprise me that they they are pushing pregnant women to have C-sections when a vaginal birth would be safe.
Anyhoo, I have been looking for places to complain to, and that's how I came upon your site. I wonder if HH took this info down from their web site since you posted this, as I've not been able to find it. But in any case, thank you for posting this, I will be filing my own complaint with JCAHO.
Hang in there, Christine. Your husband is fortunate to have you to advocate for him. When I found the complaint info on the HH site, I remember that it was sort of shoved to the bottom of a long web page. It was indeed a bit hard to find.
Good luck. I wish I could help you guys.
Jill