HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.C.R. NO.

215

TWENTY-FIFTH LEGISLATURE, 2009

S.D. 1

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

 

REQUESTING THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH TO REVIEW AND ASSESS THE POLICIES AND PROCEDURES IMPLEMENTED BY HOSPITALS TO REDUCE ELECTIVE CESAREAN SECTIONS AND INDUCTION OF LABOR.

 

 


     WHEREAS, premature birth is the leading cause of newborn death, accounting for twenty-four per cent of infant deaths in the first month of life; and

 

     WHEREAS, the average cost of medical care in the first year of life is ten times greater for a premature infant than for an infant born full term; and

 

     WHEREAS, one out of every eight babies born in Hawaii are born prematurely; and

 

     WHEREAS, more than eight per cent of babies born in Hawaii are late pre-term births, with only thirty-four to thirty-six completed weeks of gestation; and

 

     WHEREAS, late pre-term births account for much of the increase in premature births in the past decade; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Healthy People 2010 objective proposed by the United States Department of Health and Human Services is that no more than 7.6 per cent of babies will be born pre-term; and

 

     WHEREAS, premature babies who survive may suffer lifelong consequences including cerebral palsy, mental retardation, chronic lung disease, and vision and hearing loss; and

 

     WHEREAS, late pre-term infants have a higher incidence of morbidity and mortality when compared with term infants; and

 

     WHEREAS, the rate of births by cesarean delivery has risen from more than eighteen per cent in 1999 to twenty-six per cent in 2006; and

 

     WHEREAS, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists guidelines call for confirmation of thirty-nine weeks gestation for single births for elective induction of labor under most circumstance; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-fifth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2009, the Senate concurring, that the Department of Health, in consultation with the Healthcare Association of Hawaii, is requested to review and assess:

 

     (1)  The criteria used by hospitals and physicians for indications to elective inductions or cesarean sections; and

 

     (2)  The policies and procedures implemented by hospitals to reduce elective cesarean sections and induction of labor; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Health is requested to report its findings to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2010; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the report include:

 

     (1)  Statistics on the number of hospitals having policies and procedures relating to elective cesarean sections and inductions of labor prior to thirty-nine completed weeks of gestation;

 

     (2)  Statistics on the number of hospitals with policies and procedures in line with the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists guidelines; and

 

     (3)  Recommendations, including suggested legislation, on improving Hawaii's rate of premature births; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a certified copy of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Director of Health and the Chief Executive Officer of the Healthcare Association of Hawaii.


Report Title: 

Pre-term Births; Cesarean Sections; Induction of Labor