Cesarean Figures on Hospital Transfers

I was very interested to read the article about birthing centers gaining in popularity. I believe, however, the comments that 20% of all women develop complications, thus leading to a transfer and Cesarean section, are misleading.

In a study on the safety of birthing centers (Dec. 28, the New England Journal of Medicine) the total transfer rate was 15.8%, but the total Cesarean rate was only 4.4%.

The use of unnecessary interventions and misused technology caused complications leading to a Cesarean section for the birth of my first child. When pregnant a second time, I traveled over an hour to give birth naturally with no interventions. In the United States, the Cesarean rate can reach higher than 35% in some hospitals. Perhaps this trend toward out-of-hospital births can reduce Cesareans to a normal and acceptable rate.

VICKY ORTEGA

San Juan Capistrano