Childbirth main reason for hospital stays in Canada, report suggests

WATCH ABOVE: Dr. Samir Gupta takes a look at a new report which highlights the top five reasons why Canadians end up in the hospital.

TORONTO – A new report says childbirth is the top reason for hospital stays in Canada in 2012-2013.

The birth of babies accounted for 369,454 hospital stays, or nearly 13 per cent of acute hospital stays, the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) said Tuesday.

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Caesarean births or C-sections were the most common surgery in the country during that period, according to the CIHI.

The top five reasons for inpatient surgeries were:

• C-section delivery: 100,686 surgeries.
• Knee replacement: 57,829 surgeries.
• Hip replacement: 47,297 surgeries.
• Hysterectomy: 40,127 surgeries.
• Coronary artery dilation: 40,074 surgeries.

Health specialist Dr. Samir Gupta says that new data highlights Canada is performing too many C-sections when looking at the overall population rates.

“Of course with a growing population it may not be such a bad thing to have lots of deliveries and C-sections, but we also know the rate of C-sections has gone up in Canada,” said Dr. Gupta. “And we know from research evidence that despite this increasing rate we’re not seeing corresponding improvements in the health of the baby and mom.”

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Although sometimes viewed as being less painful, Dr. Gupta says C-sections can lead to severe complications.

“C-sections are associated with increased rates of several infections, risk of blood clots is three to five times higher, and women have a longer recovery period and hospital stay,” said Dr. Gupta.

The top five reasons for inpatient hospitalizations:

• Giving birth: 369,454 hospitalizations.
• Respiratory disease: 76,705 hospitalizations.
• Heart attack: 68,835 hospitalizations.
• Pneumonia: 60,077 hospitalizations.
• Heart failure: 56,260 hospitalizations.

Dr. Gupta says the leading causes for respiratory admissions are pneumonia and COPD, “particularly in older adults.”

“COPD stands for chronic obstructive lung disease and is an umbrella term for chronic bronchitis and emphysema,” said Dr. Gupta. “It is a disease caused almost exclusively by cigarette smoke in North America, including second hand smoke, which causes inflammation and destruction of the lungs.”

Dr. Gupta says this group of patients are not only admitted often, but also tend to stay in hospital for a long time, resulting in a “huge impact on the health care system.”