Indigenous-run hospital leads way on low Cesarean birth rates

Very cool piece in the New York Times on how one small, indigenous-run, hospital in Tuba City, Arizona, has “outperform[ed] richer, more prestigious institutions when it comes to keeping Caesarean rates down, which saves money and is better for many mothers and infants.”

The article partly attributes the success of the Tuba City Regional Health Care Corporation (serving the area’s Navajo, Hopi, and Southern Paiute peoples) to the use of around-the-clock midwives, who “specialize in coaching women through labor and will often wait longer than obstetricians before recommending a Caesarean.”

(With thanks to Carla Robinson.)

[Image via chaps1]