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Rallies To Make "Labor Day" Better For Moms and Babies

Carly Cort Schutte
/
Improving Birth Rally For Change, Rockford

Labor Day takes on another meaning Monday in dozens of American cities. Mothers, babies, and the people who love them will lead “Improving Birth: National Rallies for Change.”

The focus is reducing the number of cesarean sections and induced births in the U.S.  About one-third of all babies born in the U.S. are delivered via c-section.

Karyn Schwitters and Jessica Beaufils are co-organizers of the Rockford rally. In this interview with WNIJ's Susan Stephens, the two discuss the reasons behind America’s high rates of c-sections and inductions, as well as their own experiences with them. Beaufils starts with a description of how labor is induced, an increasingly common procedure performed for reasons that often doesn't meet pediatric standards.  (Any baby talk you may hear during the interview is courtesy of Ghislaine Beaufils.)

Rockford Rally

Susan is an award-winning reporter/writer at her favorite radio station. She's also WNIJ's Perspectives editor, Under Rocks contributor, and local host of All Things Considered.