Hospital maternity statistics for Munich

Does anyone know if there is a list of handy-dandy maternity statistics for the hospitals in Munich? I'd like to find something like this list here, which is for an area of the UK. I did look through the list on giving birth in Munich, but didn't see anything as concrete as what I would like.

I think that Gemini had a link on one of the 'moms' or pregnancy threads in the Ladies forum. Cannot remember the exact link, but it had to do if I remember right about pregnancy in Germany.

Not as far as I can see.

I just looked too. I seem to remember a link, for some reason I had to look at it. Maybe it wasn't Gemini then. Hmm! Now this is going to bug me til I find it now!

What Carm was thinking of isn't what I'm looking for. Anyone know of anything?

There's one published by the parents' magazine Eltern. Here's the link from their website: http://www.eltern.de/schwangerschaft_gebur...nikfuehrer.html

Most Frauenärtzte have copies of this which they give away to pregnant women.

Ach, have a home birth and don't worry about any of that stuff...

Thanks for the list Chloe. It's definitely useful, but not quite what I'm looking for.

I'm looking for something that lists the following things for Munich hospitals.

Number of births,
Number of Caesarean births,
Number of "normal" births,
Elective Caesareans allowed yes/no,
etc etc

@Showem, if you get the paper version of the Eltern Klinikführer for Munich, it does have all the statistics you are looking for, listed for each hospital. Can you ask your Frauenarzt if s/he has a copy?

Here's the info to order it from Eltern:

Erhältlich in derzeit 28 Regionalausgaben, kostenlos bei Ihrem Frauenarzt und in Geburtskliniken. Ob Ihre Region dabei ist, erfahren Sie bei uns unter 089/4152-607. Wenn nicht, dann schicken wir Ihnen umgehend den Klinikführer Geburt zu. Bitte senden Sie für die Versandkosten 5 Euro in Briefmarken an:

G + J Zeitschriftenverlagsgesellschaft mbH
ELTERN-Ratgeber
Postfach
81664 München

Cool, thanks, I see her next week, but I might break down and buy it!

Hi, Showem. I think you can make the argument that these rates are kind of irrelevant at the clinics here.

What is more important is the attending doctor's rate of c-section and not the clinic's. Of course, you won't necessarily know who the doctor is before the delivery. I chose my clinic because my doctor had beds there and agreed to attend the birth. Then I had plenty of opportunity to talk to him about my preferences regarding induction, c-section, etc.

Regardless of one's preference, I think it must be clear that whatever happens happens... I brought with me my oil burner, facial spray from Spa NK, snacks, etc... and never had time to use them. Nature is a funny thing! Germany is not so interventionist as other nations so the only worry you may have is lack of drugs!

You weren't warm enough ?

Nah, too hot to handle more like!!!

Yes and no. My experience was that they aren't very interventionist- especially compared to what I've heard from friends in the U.S. which was a mixed blessing. I had a complicated pregnancy and by the end was begging for a c-section and they really held off opting for it until the very end. But my nurses were really good about giving me drugs. I'm sure it depends on where you go and who's working, but at my hospital, it paid to be a good sport. So after three weeks of not whining while they stuck me with IV needles every day, my reward was an extra dose or two of morphine after my c-section. Bless 'em. The only thing you will not get in the hospital is a decent cup of coffee. And they might force feed you sausage.

Hi, I am a labor and delivery nurse here in the US. I found this link online for you, it was from 2000 but it said that of the study group that 17.6 percent of the 257 women studied had c-sections. Some might have had medically indicated reasons to have a c-section and never labored. 17.6 percent is pretty good. This article was about prolonged second stage (time from complete dilation to delivery) but it did quote some numbers.

http://www.medscape.com/medline/abstract/1...=emed_ckb_ref_0

Hope this helps!

I had a c-section at Schwabing Hospital and they joked about me messing up their good natural birth rate statistics - apparently it was 4%? Big thing there though - had to get examined and by the Head of the Department before they could operate. I must admit I had an awful time - after having being pampered in SA with my first C section was really shocked at the difference in Germany. Had a catheter put in and then had to walk to the operating room - felt quite weird. Husband wasnt allowed in the operating room and no one spoke English to me except the Anaethetist but at least he was kind enough to explain what was going on. Next morning had to get up and walk to the kitchen area with a gaping at the backside gown, one bag of drained blood (slight haemorraging) and my drip. No hands spare to get breakfast but they werent too bothered - learnt quickly to hold gown and drip bags in one hand and tray in other. Just thought it could have been a much nicer experience...Eventually booked myself out of hospital after five days. Paediatrican and Physiotherapist were wonderful though - there is no doubt about about the knowledge and expertise - the senior staff are amazing.

I took one look at schwabinger when I was pregnant and practically ran out. Had one kid at Roter Kreuz and one at Geisenhofer. Both were nice clinics, but Geisenhofer (I feel) offered much better care.

My husband did ask about c-section rates at our clinic visit (Paracelsus Klinik), by the way. The doctor presenting just said that the rate in Germany wasn't as high as in the US, which of course didn't answer the question. Because of the books we had been reading (from the US) about childbirth, we were supposed to be suspicious of this answer, but as I said earlier, my doctor practices at Paracelsus so I was going there anyway.

Up to that point, I had several friends who had given birth in Munich, and all had had c-sections, so I was beginning to think there was no way I'd get away with an old-fashioned birth!

As I said the experitse is there but it is really not a nice place to be generally, although my daughter went there after a fever seizure and she was treated like gold - I was 34 weeks pregnant at the time and the let me stay in a bed next to her which was nice and of course I got meals etc. Maybe it is just the maternity ward that is a bit 'rough'?

No, they almost killed my son in the surgical children's section , funnily enough, when he later had suspected meningitis, his doctor said to send him back to schwabing, that section of the children's hospital was good. (He had too subtily suggested I take him to a different clinic when his appendix acted up, but I didn't get the hint, didn't have a car, lived closer to the schwabinger and was 7 months pregnant with my second.) Live and learn.

I don't quite understand what the implied problem is with c-sections, although I'm happy to be enlightened. Obviously recovery takes somewhat longer but what's the big prob?

Well, as babies are meant to be delivered via the vagina and not cut out through the abdomen, many women would prefer it to happen that way. I'd say that for the most part, the number of C-sections that occur is considered by many to be higher than what is actually medically necessary.

As my step-father said "women have been giving birth 'naturally' for centuries"
As my mother replied "and women have been dying in 'natural' childbirth for centuries" (not to mention the babies).
My first was "natural", my second a C-section. Both are healthy. Though my first was black as night when he came out after over 3 hours in the birth canal - if I had it to do over again I wouldn't take that risk with him again.

oh right it's a sort of 'real woman' thing Presumably the main thing is that the baby is healthy I guess. Obviously there doesn't seem much point having one when it isn't necessary of course (apart from its probably a lot less painful!)


well exactly.

Oh, I don't think it's a "real woman" thing to want to avoid unnecessary surgery.
Some women have quick and easy deliveries, it would be silly for them to undergo a c-section in that case.
I also think it's silly to put off a c-section if a labor is going to be long and risky for either mom or kiddo.
When it comes down to it, nothing tends to go as planned anyway. I planned a C-section for the 11th, and went into labor the 10th - so I was going to "go for it" until the doc pointed out that this labor was going slower than my first one. So, I said baste me and carve me and get this turkey out! (I really did - the only one who got the joke was the anasthesiologist - MrDDbug was a bit green in the corner... ).

It's not just a "real woman" thing. Good lord, I've been a real woman for 35 years, I don't need to prove something. But it's not like it's getting an ingrown toenail removed, it's a major major operation, with plenty of risks. There are pros and cons on both sides of the issue, but in my opinion, more cons. If it can be avoided, I'd rather avoid it.

But this isn't what I started this thread for. Start your own if you want to discuss it.

SEAGYPZY, your link doesn't work.

Well, it's kind of a component of decision making, not just the rates for each clinic. But you're a smart woman and each woman has to decide things for themselves.

Anyway - at last birth (over 5 years ago) I picked up the Klinikführer thingy at my Obgyns. Geisenhofer had a somewhat higher C-section rate - but that may be because women like me went there to go to a specific doctor who would agree to a c-section ahead of time based on certain criteria. My frauenarzt wouldnt.

I also picked the first hospital based on damschnitt rates - to me avoiding that was more important than avoiding a c-section.

oh, congratulations and good luck by the way showem

BR, of course the main thing is that the child be healthy.

But the recovery from having a c-section is usually a lot longer than from an "old-fashioned" birth. It's tough enough to have to start taking care of this tiny demanding creature who doesn't know night from day and thinks it should eat all the time, without also simultaneously recovering from major abdominal surgery.

Because hospitals and doctors make a lot more money from c-sections than vaginal births, and because sometimes they fear lawsuits and the like from poor outcomes of letting a birth just take its course, the number of c-sections performed has been trending upwards. Many people feel c-sections are being performed unnecessarily in Western countries.

Most women would rather avoid a c-section if they can. My doctor offered me a scheduled c-section, an offer which I am glad I turned down. But then I didn't have a nightmare labor and delivery, either.

Well I don't have time to write volumes on this issue...though I would love to.

DDBUG - To say that women have been dying for centuries due to pregancy is just such a misleading statement. It is like comparing apples and oranges today. The vast majority of those women started having babies as soon as they could reproduce, had many children and were undernurished and without the benefits of modern medicine.

The fact is that it is MUCH safer for a women to have a vaginal birth rather than C-sec UNLESS there is a real medical need.

Despite what people think, the mortality today is much higher the more interventions one has (pitocin, induction, episotomy, C-sec).

I think you are very smart to look into this Showem. I will warn you that private patinets have a much higher risk of getting a C-sec because of the money.

Gemini - my mother was generalizing because my step-father was generalizing about birth not being a big deal.
I've heard horror stories here of tongs and suction cupping babies out (both in Harlaching, funnily enough) and always wondered why they waited until it was too late to do a c-section in those cases. I don't think it should be ruled out completely.
But having had two kids here, there is not a lot of "voice" given to the mothers (compared to what I have heard about giving birth in the states). I certainly felt like I was on a conveyer belt and got snapped at when I wasn't "going by the book". Stupid cows. I had nightmares for over a year afterwards.

I was scared shitless to have a c-section- but after a very long hospital stay prior to the delivery and a lot of discussions with the Chefarzt, it was the safest way to go. It is by no means an easy out compared to a vaginal birth.

I`d agree with what others have said, be very well informed when you walk in and force your doctors to talk to you. My doctors tended to... not ignore me, but to be reluctant to really lay all the information out on the table. I finally grabbed one of the doctors (not literally) that actually listened to me and told her I was scared to death and needed everyone to sit down and take the time to tell me what was going on. It also helped me to write out my questions.. . I had lists and lists of questions to keep myself focused and to make sure I didn`t walk away from the visits with the doctors feeling like they hadn`t listened to me.

Sorry just to clarify - Schwabing apparently had a 4% c-section rate - after reading my original message I saw I had not been very clear.

You could try a birth plan. But they laughed at me when I pulled mine out at Roter Kreuz ...

DDBug, I mentioned on another thread that a "birth plan" would probably viewed as a joke by the practitioners here, given what I know from experience about the issue, and got shot down.

I'm sorry you had that experience, but I do feel rather vindicated.

Showem, read lots and lots about childbirth beforehand, take a class if you feel like it (but you don't need to do both), and just go in informed.

Don't like the doctors and nurses telling you what to do? Then have it your way and go for a home birth.

Sleepless - when you personally have a home birth, then you can recommend it. I would never take that risk - especially after seeing a totally black baby come out. We ended up going home on the second day, but I certainly took advantage of the nurses while I could.

EDIT - No I do not mean watching one. I mean undergoing a dangerous physical procedure at home, you personally.

Well seeing as I'm a guy I am never going to give birth am I?
But both of my sons were born at home in the bedroom. No problems, complications or worries.

Well goodie for you.

he was only trying to be constructive

I don't understand why everyone writes off home births. Giving birth is natural, not an illness. Why does everyone think they have to go into the hospital?

Yeah, well, home birth is one idea. But never minding the potential complications, who the heck is going to be cleaning up the mess afterwards? I'm a lousy enough housekeeper as it is, and have carpet everywhere.

Anyways, continual thanks for the support and congrats.

You can get a birthing pool Showem, check out "Men behaving badly" for scientific guidelines.

Sim, besides my period, if I start bleeding, having pain, have things come out of me, from a tooth to a baby, I want to be near a doctor with the right equipment to make sure things go well, especially if another life besides just mine is at stake.
I don't let Carm come to my house to polish my teeth either.

The midwife will take care of all that. There isn't quite as much of a mess as you'd expect and you prepare beforehand with covers and towels and things.

FFS the last thing I wanted to do before my waters broke was make my flippin bed! That's a major advantage of hospitals there!

And the smell! Nah - wouldn't want to have to deal with that in the middle of winter, or in this heat either.

If you have had a normal pregnancy then a homebirth is just as safe as a hospital birth.

Not true - some people have rough pregnancies and easy deliveries, some people have easy pregnancies and dangerous deliveries. That is a dangerous lie, SIM.

Sometimes things work out and sometimes they dont...I PUSHED - yes PUSHED for six hours at a midwifes facility (in SA) before an ambulance was called to fetch me. One look from the Gynae and I was wheeled into surgery (not that I didnt want a c-section by that stage!) Would have saved a hell of a lot of time though had I gone to a hospital in the first place. Second birth (in Munich) they said the same was likely to happen so took their advice and went the C-section route voluntarily. I funnily enough trusted their opinion here as I thought that with such a low C-sec rate they obviously dont encourage it. I would say hope for the best but be informed in case of the worst case scenario - no time to read up about things whilst being wheeled into the Emergency Room!