Straight Dope on Medicine: The Great Baby Grift

In yet another despicable act of corruption, American medical institutions reveal who they are. The miasma is overwhelming. Nearly suffocating. It’s unfortunate and disturbing. Medical professionals identify a vulnerable time in the life of a woman and act to exploit her financially.

Candace Owens details how her delivery experience ended with hospital personnel preventing her from leaving, threatening to send child protective services to her front door and charge her with a misdemeanor. That is the price of not going along with the medical shakedown charade or genuflecting in front of self-appointed medical deities. This investigative journalist has unearthed yet another instance of gross medical cupidity.

It’s a crazy story, but it is readily apparent that Candace is not the only one. The hospital shake down scheme is finely tuned and orchestrated to render maximum capital remuneration from unsuspecting and trusting souls. Scam artists tend to cloak their debauchery in false virtue and moral superiority.

They care so much.

Therefore, you must succumb to their overtures.

You must!!

It’s almost like they can’t help themselves.

But they should.

Approximately 4 million infants are born in the US each year.[i]

Patients requiring obstetric care and their infants account for 20% of hospitalizations annually.[ii]

However, the availability of US obstetric hospitals with respect to birth volume, geographic distribution among states, proximity of obstetric hospitals, and urban adjacency is not well understood. Such knowledge is fundamental to inform clinical and policy efforts to optimize perinatal regionalization, care delivery, and outcomes.

A recent study included 26 900 hospital-years of data from 3207 distinct US hospitals with obstetric services, reflecting 34 054 951 associated births. Most infants (19 327 487 [56.8%]) were born in hospitals with more than 2000 births/y, and 2 528 259 (7.4%) were born in low-volume (10-500 births/y) hospitals. More than one-third of obstetric hospitals (37.4%; 10 064 hospital-years) were low volume. A total of 46 states had obstetric hospitals in all volume categories. Among low-volume hospitals, 18.9% (1904 hospital-years) were not within 30 miles of any other obstetric hospital and 23.9% (2400 hospital-years) were within 30 miles of a hospital with more than 2000 deliveries/y. Isolated hospitals (those without another obstetric hospital within 30 miles) were more frequently low volume, with 58.4% (1112 hospital-years) located in noncore rural areas.[iii]

First private maternity hospital in Wroclaw

In this cohort study of 34 054 951 births at 3207 obstetric hospitals identified using American Hospital Association data from 2010 to 2018, 56.8% of infants were born in high-volume obstetric hospitals, and 37.4% of hospitals were low volume. Among low-volume hospitals, 18.9% were isolated and 58.4% of these were rural.

Organization of Perinatal Health Care

The organization of perinatal health (medical care after birth) care on a regional basis emerged as a model of health care delivery beginning in the 1970s and 1980s. Regional organization of perinatal care was endorsed in a 1976 report by the March of Dimes Foundation, Toward Improving the Outcome of Pregnancy, which was prepared by the Committee on Perinatal Health, an ad hoc committee of representatives appointed by participating professional organizations with support from the March of Dimes Foundation.[iv]

Medical innovation has done wonders.

Advances in perinatal medicine have allowed the survival of premature infants born as young as 21 weeks gestation and as small as 244 g. There is no other time in the lifecycle when nutrition is more critical. These infants enter life with their maternal nutrient supply abruptly disconnected, and have numerous nutritional risk factors. Nutrient stores are accumulated during the third trimester of pregnancy; therefore, preterm infants have minimal energy, protein, fat, vitamin, and mineral reserves. The infant may also be a product of a pregnancy complicated by diminished uterine blood flow, thus further compromising the infant's nutrient stores at birth.[v] 

Cost of childbirth

In the U.S., the average cost of a vaginal birth is $13,024, including standard pre-delivery and post-delivery expenses such as facility fees and doctor fees.

A cesarean section (C-section) is much more expensive, costing an average of $22,646 including standard pre-delivery and post-delivery expenses.[vi]

This is not standardized. The charges are all over the map. In this case, the United States map. What the hospital charges for a vaginal delivery can fluctuate by more than $30,000 between states, and the cost of a C-section fluctuates by more than $50,000.

This is probably out of date because a new Bloomberg article says the “Average cost of child birth in US is $18,865.”[vii]

In medicine, change happens at the speed of light.

Consider Where You Give Birth

Birth center births and home births are typically less expensive than hospital births,[viii] because there are no high-risk procedures done; only low-risk parents are eligible. So you save money by not having to pay for those procedures outright, or for any fees involved in the event you'd need them.

Another big way that costs are kept down in these settings is the length of stay. With a home birth, you don't go into any facility for your birth or postpartum care unless there are complications requiring a hospital. The typical stay at a birth center for postpartum care is usually between 6 and 8 hours.[ix]

The cost varies depending on where you live and the center you choose. In general, prenatal care and delivery at a birth center is about $3,000 to $4,000 (typically much less than the grand total for a hospital birth). Again, check with your insurance company to determine coverage and out-of-pocket expenses.[x]

Charged for breathing.

Not yet, unless I’ve missed it.

They're still working on it.

But they can charge you to hold your baby.

A Utah couple had to pay $39 to hold their newborn baby immediately after the child was born via cesarean section[xi]

You should assume that hospital staff can be utterly shameless. They will try to justify the unjustifiable. Always be on guard, just like you would in buying a used car from a used car salesman.

And they’ll have attitude, as Candace found out.

Almost one in five new parents got an unexpected charge averaging $744 on their hospital bill following childbirth, a new study finds. For one-third of those unlucky folks, the surprise bill was more than $2,000.[xii]

Pregnant women are often subjected to tests and exams that may cost extra, depending on their age and health care plan. Fetal DNA testing – which is often not covered and can run around $2,000 – checks for genetic defects; so does chorionic villus sampling and amniocentesis. Frequent blood and glucose screenings to stay on top of infections and gestational diabetes, and ultrasounds monitor the baby’s progression. All can be pricey.

If you are healthy after delivery, get the heck out of there!!

Run.

More than likely they will try to tell you that all their bells and whistles are for your own good, and safety. They love, love, love that last word. If they can use it, anything goes.

Actual Problems

Not the fairy tale or synthetic variety.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the number of reported pregnancy-related deaths in the United States in 2014 was 18 deaths per 100,000 live births. That's up from 7.2 deaths per 100,000 live births in 1987.

Women with chronic conditions such as cardiac disease, obesity or high blood pressure are at greater risk of dying or nearly dying from pregnancy-related complications. If you have these risk factors, monitoring your postpartum health is particularly important.[xiii]

Blue Cross Blue Shield conducted an investigation and reported some issues.

This report examines 1.8 million pregnancies between 2014 and 2018 among commercially insured women ages 18-44.1 While the overall pregnancy rate has declined by 2% in this population since 2014, it varies considerably by age. The rate for women ages 18-24 declined by 12% while the rate for women ages 35-44 increased by 9%. While the average age of pregnancy increased over the study period from 30.6 to 31, childbirth complications did not increase with age.

The negative trend is primarily because women are unhealthier.

Before I heard this story by Candace, I did not know the abuse heaped on women who just gave birth. She called them the “Medical Mafia.” Great descriptor.

She recounts how they test ad nauseam and inject you and your baby as much as possible. They do a GBS test, Group B Strep, because they want to administer antibiotics. Candace found that nearly zero percent of babies die from this. A Hep B shot is given because there might be an STD. A vitamin K shot is given to the baby right after she came out of the womb.

All that she wanted was some sleep.

The hospital expected to keep her 48 hours.

Letting her sleep was the last thing they would allow.

She felt like she was being pranked because of the number of times someone knocked on the door.

Knock knock.

Have to check the baby’s vitals.

Knock knock.

Have to check your vitals.

Knock knock.

Weight the baby again (5 hours elapsed from last weighing)

Knock knock.

Dolly Parton Books.

Knock knock.

Hospital photography

Knock knock.

Test baby’s hearing

Knock knock.

Post-partum forms

Knock knock.

Weigh baby again (2 a.m.)

Knock knock.

We are here to give you Advil.

Candace was then determined to exit stage left. Not so fast. They hadn’t given the newborn screening yet. They thought they were entitled to the baby’s blood. Parents who don’t give it are deemed criminals. It includes a genetic screening, so that any hereditary issues might be identified immediately.

It’s really none of their business.

And it could work against your newborn.

If they find a genetic defect, insurance could deny care, or charge a ridiculous amount.

Or someone else in your family.

The head nurse came back proffering a FORM. "I have been informed under Tennessee law requires these tests. Refusal is a misdemeanor." Additionally she had to be signed out by the Ob-gyn and the pediatrician. Things escalated from there.

Candace and her husband held their ground and did get out of their medical prison. They had to be insistent though.

Conclusion

At the heart of this issue is the abuse of trust, and how we can conflate one category with another. The whole arena of medicine is infused with trust for our physical well-being. We go to the hospital or doctor because they have a track record, or history of getting the job done. In large part, they can fix what ails us. They have the technology and expertise to heal.

The rub comes when they shake us down for money, overcharge us, or invent fake charges and virtually rob us. They have schemes to justify it all of course, but it is not justified. It is wrong. The same people who can help us medically are not to be trusted with our money. They keep showing us that, or I wouldn’t be saying it.

Trust in one area cannot be automatically extended to another.

The halo effect is faulty logic.

Well, we’ve come to the end of our journey. The medical landscape is not what it should be. There will be exceptions of course. The best medicine for these people who extort money from new mothers would be if no one uses their services. Reject them. When we walk into their institutions, obey nonsense, and pay their exorbitant charges, we encourage this horrendous behavior and enable it to continue. Material loss can speak volumes.

Speak up.

References

[i] Martin JA, Hamilton BE, Osterman MJK, Driscoll AK. Births: final data for 2018.  Natl Vital Stat Rep. 2019;68(13):1-47.

[ii] McDermott KW, Elixhauser A, Sun R. Trends in hospital inpatient stays in the United States, 2005-2014. H-CUP statistical brief 225. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. June 2017. Accessed February 19, 2020.

[iii] Handley SC, Passarella M, Herrick HM, et al. Birth Volume and Geographic Distribution of US Hospitals With Obstetric Services From 2010 to 2018. JAMA Netw Open. 2021;4(10):e2125373.

[iv] https://www.acog.org/clinical-information/physician-faqs/-/media/3a22e153b67446a6b31fb051e469187c.ashx

[v] Low Birth Weight and Preterm Infants: Nutritional Management

J.L. Bosarge, in Encyclopedia of Human Nutrition (Third Edition), 2013

[vi] https://www.valuepenguin.com/cost-childbirth-health-insurance

[vii] https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-07-13/how-much-does-it-cost-to-have-a-baby-in-the-us

[viii] Janssen PA, Milton C, Aghajanian J. Costs of planned home vs. hospital birth in British Columbia attended by registered midwives and physicians. PLOS ONE. 2015;10(7):e0133524.

[ix] https://www.verywellfamily.com/how-much-does-having-a-baby-cost-2759032

[x] https://www.whattoexpect.com/pregnancy/birth-center/

[xi] https://www.cbsnews.com/news/doula-explains-why-hospital-charged-parents-39-to-hold-newborn-baby-in-viral-post/

[xii] https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/02/health/surprise-bills-childbirth-wellness/index.html

[xiii] https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/labor-and-delivery/in-depth/postpartum-complications/art-20446702