The Birth Survey

Wouldn't it be great if we could get the inside scoop on birth attendants and their intervention rates etc.?  As a doula, I belong to a listserv and we discuss experiences with doctors but we have no hard data.  For example, we might ask, has anyone had a successful VBAC with doctor x?  We all know that certain hospitals must have high cesarean rates because the moms we attend there tend to have cesareans for questionable reasons, but again, no hard facts.  There is a project out there that aims to collect better information from practitioners so that women will truly have more choice when deciding where and with whom to birth.  Here are the goals of the project as found on their site, The Birth Survey.

Objective 1        
        Annually obtain maternity care intervention rates on an institutional level for all fifty states.

Objective 2
        Collect feedback about women’s birth experiences using an online, ongoing survey, The Birth Survey.            

Objective 3
        Present official hospital intervention rates, results of The Birth Survey, and information about the MFCI in an on-line format.             

Objective 4               
       Increase public awareness of differences among maternity care providers and facilities and increase recognition of the MFCI as the gold standard for maternity care.

It is hard to have an empowered birth if you can't get good information!