Interventions increase the likelihood of a cesarean section
This article on the likelihood of a cesarean section originally appeared on http://birthbythenumbers.org on June 12, 2013.
Looking at a cesarean section, one way to examine the impact of interventions is to explore the consequences of what has been termed the “cascade of intervention,” with one intervention increasing the likelihood of others that may be used to monitor, prevent, or treat its side effects. This relationship was studied by Tracy et al. (2007) with over 750,000 low-risk women in a population-based study in Australia and is modeled on a presentation made at the 2011 Normal Birth Conference by Allison Shorten, PhD.
In Listening to Mothers III, we examine the relationship between cesarean rate, induction, and epidural usage. The maternal risk factors for induction are not taken into account in this initial descriptive presentation, though we intend to explore this question further.
