February 14, 2018
Two survivors of C-section delivery and postpartum complications will be part of a distinguished panel at the upcoming 2018 World Patient Safety Science & Technology Summit in London, on Saturday, February 24.
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Kristen Terlizzi will share her near-fatal experience of postpartum care at the 6th Annual World Patient Safety, Science & Technology Summit in London, UK. (Photo: Business Wire)
According to researchers, C-sections or deliveries of newborns by caesarean section, is on the rise but nearly half of those cases are unnecessary and complications from the procedure are not well known or understood. The Patient Safety Movement Foundation is pleased to announce the panelists participating in the upcoming Reducing Unnecessary C-Sections in Hospitals Panel. These include Jill Arnold and Kristen Terlizzi who have become fierce patient advocates since their near fatal experiences in delivering their infants by C-section and the complications that followed.
The Statistics: Internationally, C-sections are on the rise ranging from an average of 40.5% in Latin America/Caribbean area to 7.3% in Africa (Betran 2016). In the United States, one-third of patients give birth surgically (Martin, 2017) and international experts have identified this high cesarean rate as a significant maternal health safety issue (Council on Patient Safety in Women’s Health Care 2016).
Kristen Terlizzi’s post-partum medical care was so extreme, it inspired a scientific journal case study. An earlier C-section left her with a condition called Placenta Accreta – where placental tissue remains and spreads affecting other organs. Hemorrhaging during corrective surgery was so acute, she had her entire blood supply replaced.
Jill Arnold was the picture of health and breezed through a low-risk pregnancy and delivery but the lack of emphasis on postpartum care in the U.S. left her at risk. She began showing symptoms of DVT – Deep Vein Thrombosis – which could have easily killed her. “A leg-length clot had developed in a superficial vein that extended from my ankle all the way up to the groin,” said Arnold.
Unnecessary C-sections also pose long-term health risks including subsequent uterine scar rupture, abnormal placentation, increased risk of hemorrhage, and hysterectomy (Bauserman 2015, Marshall 2011, Rageth 1999, Galyean 2009) where there is an exponential increase in such complications with the number of prior cesareans (Clark 1985).
The Reducing Unnecessary C-sections panel will discuss best practices from around the world and announce the new Actionable Patient Safety Solutions related to this topic.
Members of the Global Panel include:
For more information, please visit the Patient Safety Movement Foundation website. Members of the media may request a press pass by visiting http://bit.ly/2mCeyay or by contacting Tanya Lyon – phone (949) 351-2858 or email [email protected].
About Patient Safety Movement Foundation:
More than 200,000 U.S. patients and three million worldwide die each year from preventable causes. The Patient Safety Movement Foundation (PSMF) was established through the support of the Masimo Foundation for Ethics, Innovation, and Competition in Healthcare to reduce that number of preventable deaths to zero by 2020 (0X2020). Improving patient safety requires a collaborative effort from all stakeholders, including patients, healthcare providers, medical technology companies, government, employers, and private payers. The PSMF works with all stakeholders to address problems with actionable solutions. The Foundation also convenes the World Patient Safety, Science and Technology Summit bringing together some of the world’s best minds for thought-provoking discussions and new ideas that challenge the status quo. By presenting specific, high-impact solutions to meet patient safety challenges, called Actionable Patient Safety Solutions, encouraging medical technology companies to share the data their products are purchased for, and asking hospitals to make commitments to implement Actionable Patient Safety Solutions, the Patient Safety Movement Foundation is working toward zero preventable deaths by 2020. Visit http://patientsafetymovement.org/.
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