Lakewood's Kimball Hospitial

Why exactly is this important enough to be in the Asbury Park Press? APP: At some New Jersey hospitals, nearly 1 out of every 2 babies are delivered by Caesarean section. So how has Kimball Medical Center in Lakewood managed to keep its C-section rate below 18 percent?In 2004, Kimball's C-section rate was 17.8 percent — the lowest among New Jersey hospitals.Dr. Eric Lehnes, chairman of Kimball's OB-GYN department, said the fact that the medical center is located in a town with a large Orthodox Jewish community certainly is one factor. Many young Orthodox Jewish couples aspire to have large families and that goal provides a strong incentive for women to have vaginal deliveries, since Caesarean sections leave scar tissue in the uterus that can complicate future pregnancies.In contrast, delivering a first baby vaginally generally acts to shorten labor time and ease the delivery of subsequent babies, he said."By the seventh, eighth and ninth babies" — which is not uncommon among Orthodox families — "their C-section rate is going to be one-half of 1 percent," Lehnes said.The low rates aren't simply a matter of cultural preferences, however.In his private, all-male OB-GYN group, Lehnes said, "We practice a bit of a more old-fashioned medicine."By that, he means, "We don't do labor by the phone," a common practice elsewhere in which doctors remain home or work with other patients until the woman in labor is nearly ready to deliver. "While our patients are in labor, we're there."Dr. Bruce B. Feinberg said his OB-GYN group, Women's Health Associates, which is in Lakewood and affiliated with Kimball, has a C-section rate for first-time mothers of less than 3 percent....The group primarily uses certified nurse-midwives to direct the birthing process. There are six experienced nurse-midwives on staff......Shirley Cohen, the group's midwifery director, said it isn't only Orthodox patients who are interested in avoiding Caesarean sections. She also works in the Ocean Health Initiative public health clinic in Lakewood, where non-Jewish patients often express their strong preference for a natural birth.