Ensuring sufficient staffing levels in birthing units could help hospitals lower cesarean section rates, according to a study published Jan. 28 in Nursing Outlook.
A team led by researchers at New York University Rory Meyers College of Nursing conducted the study, which sought to understand whether nurse staffing influences C-section rates. They surveyed 2,786 nurses at 193 hospitals nationwide about maternity unit staffing levels between 2018 and 2019. Researchers matched nurses' responses to hospital-level data on C-section and vaginal birth rates.
Labor and delivery units with stronger nurse staffing levels were more likely to have lower C-section rates and higher vaginal birth rates, including among mothers who previously had a C-section. Overall, hospitals with nurse staffing levels that aligned with national standards had 11% lower C-section rates.
“Concern about cesarean section rates in the U.S. has been high for many years, and there has been little progress toward improvement. This study points us toward one important solution: aligning labor and delivery nurse staffing with consensus- and expert-developed guidelines," study author Joanne Spetz, PhD, director of the Institute for Health Policy Studies at the University of California, San Francisco, said in a new release.
"While increasing nurse staffing during a period of shortage can be challenging, this investment could reduce overall costs by reducing rates of surgical cesarean sections and longer-term adverse outcomes for mothers and babies," she added.
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