Outcomes of the first two years of the Power to Push Campaign and Best Birth Clinic

We’ve got very exciting news!

We can’t believe it’s been two and a half years since we launched the Power to Push Campaign and Best Birth Clinic. We launched in September 2010, with the goal of encouraging pregnant women in BC to know all their options and take control of their births. We have heard from hundreds of women in BC, and indeed across Canada, about what a good birth, a safe birth, means to them.

Through this campaign we’ve also connected with family physicians, midwives, obstetricians, pediatricians, anesthetists, nurses, and doulas to help spread our message and circulate our informed choice materials. These health care professionals - and the doulas passionate about supporting choices in childbirth - have helped to empower women giving birth in the hospital and change the culture of birth. The Power to Push campaign has been instrumental in promoting the option of vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC) and offering women the choice of vaginal breech birth, while women choosing an elective cesarean section tell us they have also felt well informed and supported at the Best Birth Clinic.

Now, we’re finally ready to share our report on the outcomes of the first two years of the Power to Push Campaign and Best Birth Clinic! The report outlines the development and implementation of all the elements of the Campaign and Clinic, and, most importantly, includes data on the effect these initiatives have had on the cesarean rate, the VBAC rate, and the breech birth rate at BC Women’s Hospital (BCWH). At a time when cesarean rates in many places have continued to rise, BCWH has seen the overall cesarean rate drop 3% since the campaign launch and the VBAC rate increase by almost 4%. As well, women traveled from around the province to have the opportunity to attempt a vaginal breech birth at BCWH.

You can read more about the report here.

Thank you to every single one of you who has been a part of the Power to Push Campaign – just by reading you are helping to expand awareness of childbirth options in BC. We couldn’t have done this without you!

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