LA county hospitals change birth policy
UPI
LA county hospitals change birth policy
LOS ANGELES, April 4 (UPI) - The Los Angeles Times reports (Saturday)
county hospitals have adopted a new policy this month that discourages
vaginal births for women who previously delivered a child by Cesarean
section. The policy says women with previous C-sections must sign a
consent form if they want a vaginal delivery, which hospitals used to
encourage in all cases until a slew of lawsuits resulted in more than
$24 million in settlements.
bc-ca-births
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UPI
LA county hospitals change birth policy
LOS ANGELES, April 4 (UPI) - Los Angeles County hospitals have
adopted a new policy that would require mothers to sign consent forms
for vaginal deliveries if they have previously given birth by Caesarean
section.
The Los Angeles Times reports today that more than $24 million in
lawsuit settlements prompted the policy change, which contrasts with the
hospitals' long-standing practice of encouraging vaginal deliveries in
most cases.
The policy change comes the same week that county attorneys
recommended a $600,000 settlement in the case of a 3-year-old boy who
was severely injured in a birth at a county hospital.
The attorneys' report showed the boy suffers severe retardation,
seizure disorder, cerebral palsy and other neurological problems linked
to the fact that county hospital doctors allowed the mother's labor to
continue for four hours after a Caesarean section was indicated.
The Times says the new policy also forbids vaginal deliveries for
mothers who have a history of uterine problems, are carrying triplets or
whose previous Caesarean births involved a certain type of incision in
the abdomen.
County hospital officials said they had ``suppressed'' surgical C-
section births before because they are more costly and require the
presence of several doctors, nurses and technicians.
County Supervisor Mike Antonovich hailed the new policy as a major
step towards protecting the rights and health of women, saying, ``It
puts choices back into the hands of the patients.''
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