Re:What a Midwife Wishes People Knew About Her Job
by souprock on Monday May 06, 2019 @06:16PM
(#19844488)
It is important to consider long-term effects. It is very easy to only look at the immediate survival of the baby or of the mother. Subsequent births are endangered by C section scars. Each scar is an area of uterus that is deficient in multiple ways.
The eagerness to perform a C section is taking away the choice to have a large family. Early on, I didn't even know I'd want to choose a large family. If the first birth had been a C section, then ones afterward would more likely be C sections also, and I would have never gotten the chance to have a dozen kids. You can't have a dozen kids with a uterus that is turned into mincemeat.
To allow for the possibility of having a large family, avoiding that first C section is important. All the interventions that increase the chances of it (epidural, induction, etc.) should thus also be avoided.
There IS absolutely objective and scientific justification to challenge the way things are done at hospitals.
"In the United States, C-section rates have increased from just over 20% in 1996 to 33% in 2011.[3] This increase has not resulted in improved outcomes resulting in the position that C-sections may be done too frequently.[3]"
Now, how do all the factors weigh out? That's the research I'd like to see an informed and non-emotional party try to do. Most "opinions" on the topic only detract from the discussion.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caesarean_section