Eastside hospitals team up to reduce C-sections

Two Eastside hospital are teaming up to reduce c-sections.

Team Birth Project launched at Overlake Medical Center in Bellevue and Evergreen Health Medical Center in Kirkland in January.

"Team Birth Project  was started as a way to hopefully decrease the c-section rate, but also increase vaginal birth and most importantly enhance the mother's experience during her birth time, " said Dr. Kristin Graham, the Medical Director of Women's and Infants' Services at Overlake.

"I think it really has the opportunity, in addition to reducing C-section rates, to really change the way we do maternity care and really put the patient at the center of it in a way that is very visible to the patient," explained Dr. Bettina Paek, Maternal-Fetal Medicine at EvergreenHealth.

To increase communication, each birthing room at both hospitals has white board on the wall. It's a chance to display the mother's birth plan in plain view and to make sure all members of the care team are on the same page.

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The C-section rate hovers around 30 percent, the nationwide goal is to bring it down to 23.9 percent.

Kelsey Mooseker and her husband Andrew of Lake Stevens had twin girls at EvergreenHealth Medical Center a month ago.

It was very important to Kelsey to have vaginal birth, if possible.

"The thought of caring for twins after having to recover from a C-section at the same time, the idea was daunting so it was something I wanted from the beginning but I didn't know if it would be possible," said Kelsey Mooseker.

She'd had a C-section with her first daughter, 10 years ago.

"It was day and night for me. With my first there was no communication. I didn't feel like I was heard during birth and during labor. It was more of the doctor telling me what was going to happen," said Mooseker.

With twins on the way, and arriving early,  the plan was to deliver them vaginally in an operating room,  just in case.

That plan was reinforced on the white board in her room.  Her husband found it helpful.

"I can look at the board. Are we following the board, are we doing exactly what Kelsey wants in this situation?" said Andrew Mooseker.

The twins were born Feb. 7th, according to plan.

"We were very lucky," said Kelsey Mooseker.

The project is being run by Ariadne Labs and involves two other hospitals -- one in Massachusetts the other in Oklahoma. They will be collecting data until September 2020.

Cox Media Group