Reducing Unnecessary C-sections Panel
Channel: Patient Safety Movement
Date: 2018-03-29

Two survivors of C-section delivery and postpartum complications, Jill Arnold and Kristen Terlizzi, joined Siddarth Satish, Dr. Bob Silver, and moderator Dr. David Lagrew on the Reducing Unnecessary C-sections panel at the 6th Annual World Patient Safety, Science & Technology Summit.

According to researchers, C-sections or deliveries of newborns by cesarean section is on the rise but nearly half of those cases are unnecessary and complications from the procedure are not well known or understood. Jill Arnold and Kristen Terlizzi who have become fierce patient advocates since their near-fatal experiences in delivering their infants by C-section and the complications that followed. 

The Statistics: Internationally, C-sections are on the rise ranging from an average of 40.5% in Latin America/Caribbean area to 7.3% in Africa (Betran 2016).  In the United States, one-third of patients give birth surgically (Martin, 2017) and international experts have identified this high cesarean rate as a significant maternal health safety issue (Council on Patient Safety in Women’s Health Care 2016). 

Kristen Terlizzi’s post-partum medical care was so extreme, it inspired a scientific journal case study. An earlier C-section left her with a condition called Placenta Accreta – where placental tissue remains and spreads affecting other organs. Hemorrhaging during corrective surgery was so acute, she had her entire blood supply replaced.