As cesarean section rates increase in Florida, Maternity Place at Broward Health Medical Center has partnered with the Florida Perinatal Quality Collaborative (FPQC) to participate in the PROVIDE Initiative, aimed at reducing the number of low-risk nulliparous, term, singleton, vertex (NTSV) cesareans.
Deliveries by C-section increased in Florida from 21.9 percent rate in 1996 to 38.1 percent in 2012. In 2014, Florida had the second highest cesarean rate in the U.S.
While cesarean sections can be life-saving when necessary, they carry a higher risk of complications for mother and baby. According to the FPQC, these risk include hemorrhage, infection, uterine rupture, abnormal placentation, cardiac events, psychological stress, longer hospital stays, increased pain and increased postpartum re-admissions. They are also associated with impaired neonatal respiratory function, neonatal intensive care unit admission, difficulty breastfeeding, and lifelong health.
For the past year, Maternity Place at Broward Health Medical Center has been actively participating in workshops and implementing labor-support techniques as part of the PROVIDE initiative. Early data collected by the hospital already shows a reduction in cesarean section rate for first-time mothers from 29 percent to 28.6 percent.
"We are proud to participate in the PROVIDE initiative," said Broward Health President/CEO Beverly Capasso. "To ensure that moms and their babies have the best health outcomes, it is critical that we as a health system provide education and guidance on child delivery and care to foster healthy families across the region.”
