This is an interesting read for anyone pregnant, intending to get pregnant, or knows someone who is currently pregnant or intending to get pregnant.

Effects of Hospital Economics on Maternity Care

The fact that more cesarean sections are performed when reimbursement is higher, shows that this intervention is done at least some of the time for economic reasons. For example, in 2000 cesarean sections were performed on 24.4% of patients covered by private insurance (which reimburses at the highest rates), on 20% of patients covered by Medicaid, and on 18.65% of women who were uninsured (”Care of Women in U.S. Hospitals, 2000″ HCUP Fact Book No. 3).

The article also addresses “Other ways Hospitals can increase profits from labor and delivery”

Admitting babies to Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs) is a money-maker, especially if the babies are not very sick. A Ross planning associate said: “We can do a better job of budgeting our staff with these longer stays and increased numbers of patients. … And we’re doing procedures – highly technical procedures that cost a lot and can generate higher revenue based on the same occupancy.” (Shearer MH. The economics of intensive care for the full-term newborn. Birth 1980;7(4): 1980. p 235)

Included with unncessary NICU admittance for “increased cost of care” hospitals are is also rising the use of epidurals, reducing the duration of prenatal visits, increasing labor inductions, and operating on minimal staffing.

“It is no longer feasible for individual physicians who have invested 12 years in training at a cost of hundreds of thousands of dollars to dedicate extended periods to observing one normal woman in labor.” (Macer JA, Macer CL, and Chan LS. Elective induction versus spontaneous labor: a retrospective study of complications and outcome. Am J Obstet Gynecol 1992:166:1690-7.)

The article says it better than I ever could: “The end result is that women are being cut and drugged and their babies harmed every day for economic and other non-medical reasons.”