Pushing Into My Product

Last week, I created my final product proposal plan which discusses insurance reform equalizing the cost of vaginal deliveries and Cesarean sections.  I first generated this idea from my mentor, Dr. Heather Bellanger, who talked to me about an increasingly prevalent problem in the United States: the rising rate of Cesarean sections. Cesarean sections are performed when vaginal deliveries become too complicated or have an increased risk of maternal morbidity and mortality, such as in situations like shoulder dystocia. However, unnecessary Cesarean section can lead to  problems, such as placenta accreta, uterine scarring, and more. I did some research and I learned from an article that a contributing factor to the rising rate for Cesarean section is the monetary incentive. Physicians get paid more for Cesarean deliveries than they do for vaginal deliveries, which leads them to manipulate their patients to undergo a more expensive procedure, despite the obvious negative health repercussions. A solution proposed in the article was that equalizing the cost for Cesarean sections and vaginal deliveries could incentivize physicians to undergo more vaginal deliveries, as the monetary aspect is eliminated. For my final product, I planned to research this as there have been very little studies investigating insurance reform tied to Cesarean section, so I hope to make a change in the research by adding more to the discussion. I am yet to submit my proposal to my mentor!