COUNTRY'S HIGHEST C-SECTION RATE UNDERSCORES NEED FOR NATIONAL OBSTETRIC GUIDELINES, SAYS AMNESTY IN

[azurnoir]

Amnesty International today pointed to new government figures showing the highest-ever rate of Caesarean sections as more evidence the United States needs to adopt guidelines for the use of obstetric procedures to begin reversing rising pregnancy complications and maternal deaths.

Amnesty International, in its recent report, Deadly Delivery: The Maternal Health Care Crisis in the USA, called on President Obama and Congress to create an Office of Maternal Care to deal with systemic failures in care that have placed the United States behind 40 other countries in terms of maternal deaths, including virtually all industrialized countries. The human rights organization says that nothing short of a comprehensive look at the catalogue of problems associated with maternal care will begin to bring down the number of deaths and serious complications.

The National Center for Health Statistics reported that the Caesarean rate reached 32 percent in 2007, the highest rate ever. C-sections have become the most common operation in American hospitals.

http://www.amnestyusa.org/document.php?id=ENGUSA20100324001&lang=e&rss=recentnews