cesarean awareness
There is so much information circulating about cesarean
section deliveries. Unfortunately, a great majority
of this information is misleading, if not completely false.
It is incredibly easy to think of cesarean's in a positive
light. "Hey - you don't have to labor, you can have
your baby in 45 minutes, and it will all be over!"
Wow! That makes it sound great! However, that's
not the whole truth.
Cesarean Sections are Major Abdominal Surgery. They
are Life-Saving Surgeries. If you experience a serious
problem in your labor that deems it absolutely necessary
to get that baby out now - then you absolutely need a cesarean. C-sections
can save lives.
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Image
courtesy
of ICAN Alaska
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However, the CDC reports (full report):
- The Cesarean rate for 2004 is 29.1% and climbing
- The rate is up from 27.6% in 2003
- U.S. cesareans have risen 40% since 1996
- First-time cesareans are at an historic high of 20.6%
Most importantly, we are not saving babies and mothers through these surgeries. Our infant/maternal mortality rate reflects this.
Why then are
we using cesareans as "vaginal bypass?" Why does our society feel
that they are beneficial to women and easier/better/faster than vaginal
birth? Why does Colorado have a 22% cesarean rate statewide when
the World Health Organization believes anything over 15% is dangerous? Some
Colorado Hospitals actually have a rate close to 35-40%!
Some of the problems
with cesareans:
- Risk
of bleeding
- Risk
of infection
- Risk
of maternal death (4x!)
- Serious
risk of uterine rupture in subsequent pregnancies
- Risk
of secondary infertility
- Risk
of incision opening
- Delayed
milk supply
- Delayed
bonding
- Long
twelve week recovery
- Incision large enough to accommodate your baby
- Breastfeeding
difficulties due to medication, narcotics and hormone drop
(not to mention pain)
- You
cannot drive for 2 weeks - You
cannot walk stairs
- You
may have trouble sneezing, crying, picking up your baby without
pain
- Increased
incidence of postpartum depression (probably due to the hormone
drop)
It has
been suggested that men do things like race cars and weight train as
a way to test their strength and endurance. Women do the
same thing through birth. Right or wrong, birth tests us
in completely new ways and women come out the other side as
different people. C-sections put the mother into a spectator
role. She watches, but cannot truly participate. Motherhood
is definitely not a spectator sport. C-section moms report a feeling
of being "delayed" or "behind" other moms. It simply takes longer
to recover, to bond, to move into parenting. Mom's may feel like
they "failed" at birth, and then may again "fail" at breastfeeding. The
best thing a new mom can have is confidence - and surgical delivery
frequently strips this confidence. It is not uncommon for c-section
moms to grieve their birth experiences and to replay it over and over
in their minds. Some moms suffer from posttraumatic stress disorder
and other rape-type trauma.
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If you are interested in more information on your rights
as a patient, the realities of cesarean section or cesarean
recovery, please contact the International
Cesarean Awareness Network. You can also find the
MCA booklet here.
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