Comparing mothers experiences in labor, u.s., 2005 and 2011/12: The more things change?

Background: In recent years there has been considerable discussion concerning changing childbirth practices in the U.S., with two NIH conferences, an Institute of Medicine meeting and an array of films, books and websites devoted to the issue. This presentation will compare results from two national surveys of mothers concerning their experiences in childbirth. Methods: The sources of the data are Listening to Mothers II (2005; n=1573) and Listening to Mothers III (2011/12; n=2416). Mothers who had given birth in the year prior to the survey were asked to describe their experiences in labor including whether or not they had received a series of intrapartum interventions. This analysis is limited to mothers having a vaginal birth. Results: The results from the 2011/2012 survey were not released at the time of submission of this abstract but will be available in March, 2013. Specifically, this presentation examines changes in intervention rates in the 6 years between surveys and factors that might relate to any changes. Among the practices that will be compared (all the following figures refer to vaginal births in 2005) were attempted induction (49%), episiotomy (25%), Pitocin for augmentation (55%), use of epidural anesthesia (71%), use of a catheter (43%), use of lithotomy position in delivery (57%), and reliance on no pain medications (14%). When differences occur, analysis of possible explanations for those differences (demographic shifts, differences in providers, changes in maternal attitudes) will be examined. Conclusion: Not possible until 2011/12 data is analyzed. Were high intervention rates maintained?