Florida became the first state to allow C-Sections outside of hospitals – What health experts say

New maternal health law

Evyn Moon reports.

TAMPA, Fla. - About 1.3 million women will have a C-Section this year in the U.S., making it the most common surgical procedure in the country, and amounting to more than 30% of all births. But, it is still major surgery and not without big risks.

On average, women will lose about a liter of blood during the procedure.

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Just last year, Florida was the first state to allow these surgeries to happen outside of hospitals – in advanced birthing centers.

"When a lot of us as physicians hear about a major surgery in the surgery center, we get a little concerned, and we want to make sure that there are certain things in place," said Katherine Apostolakis-Kyrus, an obstetrics and gynecology physician at Johns Hopkins All Children’s. "I can certainly see some pros where some women would like to avoid a hospital, have it in a different, more intimate setting. And, I think that would be possible if it were done the right way."

The bill states the patients would need to be "low risk," but some said there are still more resources at a regular hospital.

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"What makes me a little apprehensive is the patient's safety," said Apostolakis-Kyrus. "If you go in for routine delivery, and then you end up having a postpartum hemorrhage, we can call a mass transfusion protocol at the hospital. We know if you need a hysterectomy, you can call for more hands-on deck and that situation can be well handled and the complications decrease. So for that is certainly the pro delivering in a hospital."

Researcher in the field of maternal health say, although the risks outweigh the potential benefits, it may give mothers more options.

"The pros are it potentially gives moms another option for delivery, so another option that is specialized, like a boutique birth center, more comfortable for moms in recovery after delivery… recovery for a C-section you are in there for a couple days," said USF Assistant Professor Amanda Elmore, Ph.D., who specializes in maternal and child health. "So, more comfortable, homey setting for moms to deliver."

Elmore says, although it gives moms another option, she still believes there are too many risks for moms and babies to conduct C-sections in birthing centers.

But some organizations vehemently oppose the law, like the Florida Hospital Association, who said in a statement, in part:

"Both mom and baby deserve access to the best possible care, which is why we believe that C-sections should be performed exclusively in the hospital setting where doctors, multidisciplinary teams, sophisticated equipment, and other critical resources are immediately available in the event complications arise."

"I think when we sit down with this bill in our state or other states, just have the medical professionals there, so we can do this in the safest way to take care of our women," said Apostolakis-Kyrus.

The Source: The information in this story was gathered through interviews with health experts.

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