Stats…200 Babies! 4


I can hardly believe that I have been blessed to catch 200 babies.  As I sit here writing this, I am overcome with gratitude.  Gratitude for all the families that have shared their births with me, gratitude for all of my teachers along the way, gratitude for my own amazing family and gratitude for the birth center itself.  Back in April of 2011, I reached the milestone of 100 babies and decided to calculate some personal stats.  It was very informative and I decided to go through the same process every 100 births.  The stats that I list are not for the birth center as a whole, but only the stats for the births I personally attended.  I have combined the results from 1-100 with the new 101-200 to give a total.  Here goes;

100 boys and 100 girls (what are the chances of that?!?), 5 of these were born en caul (2 girls and 3 boys)

There were 33 cases of PPH (16.5%), the vast majority being less than 1,000cc

There were 10 Shoulder Dystocia’s (5%), however 3 were very mild and easily relieved by 1 position change

I performed AROM in 34 labors (17%), primarily this was done for augmentation of labor.

I had 5 cases of retained placenta. (At our center, per state regulations, the cut off for retained placenta is 30min.)

I performed 1 manual removal of a placenta at the center secondary to hemorrhage, also for that birth I performed bi-manual compression while en route to hospital.  I had 1 cord evulsion, found 1 true knot in a cord and had 1 labial hematoma.  The hematoma was not severe and resolved on its own.

I have performed 7 episiotomies (3.5%). Two of which extended to fourth degree lacerations. All were done for significant fetal heart rate decelerations during crowning.

Intact perineums = 75, first degree lacs = 59 (about half requiring repair), second degree lacs = 56, third degree lacs = 7 and fourth degree lacs = 3

8 newborns were transferred to the hospital; 6 for TTN, 1 for congenital pneumonia and 1 with severe anomolies.

17 women were transferred PP; 5 for retained placenta’s, 3 related to PPH’s and 9 for repairs of extensive lacerations.

My water birth rate is 36.3% (for 21 of my catches, water birth was not an option per the site)
Birth positions: semi-reclining = 35, hands and knees = 58, birth stool = 36, McRobert’s = 29, squatting = 21, side lying = 18, standing = 3

Additionally, something that I did not keep track of for the first 100 births, was my rate of intrapartum transfer.  I have since started keeping track of those numbers. Since April of 2011 through November 8 of this year, I have transferred 24 Mama’s that were in labor, none of them were emergent.  (These 24 are not included in the above numbers.)  Of those ladies transferred, 11 required a cesarean section.

So, there it is in a little nutshell.  It really is an experience to go back and look through these numbers.  In reviewing my birth logs, I get to re-visit these births and families.  Overall, I feel good about my outcomes and am glad to share them. 


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4 thoughts on “Stats…200 Babies!

  • Aubre

    I highly recommend keeping a detailed birth log, for many reasons. It has been good for me to able to go back and look at these numbere. Also, I typically include a little snippet from the birth to help me remember when looking back.

  • Melanie

    Do you just use a blank journal or an official birth record book? I'm starting my first job as a CNN soon and definitely want to keep personal stats as you . Thanks! I am enjoying reading your blog!

  • Aubre

    Melanie, congrats on getting ready to start your first job! The birth log that I use is from the Midwifery Today website, it is hard back and has lots of room to add in whatever information you choose. It is by Bonnie Gruenberg and is titled "The Midwife's Journal, Birth Log and Memory Book"