One in Three

[Maruska]

Maybe it came across that way, but I didn't mean it to. I guess it's a topic that gets my back up quickly because of the strong feelings surrounding it. There are a large section of people who look down on people who choose a c-section and ram the whole natural is best and you aren't a real mum or don't deserve to have a child if you don't do it the natural way. I've just done quite a bit of reading around the internet on various forums (not necessarily the people who comment on here) and people really do judge other people for their choices when it comes to childbirth and rearing their children.

If you want to have your baby naturally that's great and I hope it all works out and you get the birth you want. But equally shouldn't those who want c-sections have the birth they want?

 

You haven`t seen anything yet! Labour is just the first tiny part, you`ll encounter critical stares/remarks about the way you handle your children`s behavior ( yes, 2 year olds DO have temper tantrums). Same with breastfeeding, if you aren`t, you are selfish @$# who doesn`t care about the health of her baby.... it goes on. I took my 5 days old baby in her carseat to an outdoor café ( very quiet area, beginning of September, 28 degrees outside), put her next to me, made sure that she isn`t in the sun and put a light blanket on her. Next thing I know, an old guy is coming to me and saying " you shouldn`t bring such a small baby outside, babies need to stay indoors until at least 6 weeks old and BY THE WAY, I`M A DOCTOR!!!! All the while his wife sitting at the next table, frowning at me, shaking her head. I actually asked my pediatrician if I could take her out when we left the hospital and he said of course, just make sure she isn`t too hot and don`t expose her to direct sun. I was still emotional after birth and I started crying, feeling like the worst mother ever. My husband came with our coffee, found me in tears and the people were already gone.

Don`t let strangers upset you, you`ll do what`s best for your baby and you.

[fairystar32]

I am a member on many Aussie forums and what shocked me the most is people fighting for a natural birth after a CS?

I had a crash CS for my firstborn in the UK, I had my next births normally, was encouraged to do so and never mentioned a CS unless it became an emergency again or due to risk of rupture. Here they seem to have too fight to have that natural birth if they have had a CS and a lot of doctors will not allow it? A CS is a HIGHER risk, even after having a prior CS than opting for a normal birth.

[fairystar32]

I so disagree with many posts on here. IMPO a CS should be EMERGENCY only, not a personal choice! It is huge surgery, carries more risk for BOTH mother and baby. A lot of CS babies end up on a ventialtor or special care as their lungs of full of the fluid which is normally pushed out during the birth process. (mine was one of them and almost died), Infections and a higher risk of uterine abruption in future pregnancies. More risk of previa and believe me you do NOT want this and placenta accreta .

A CS is serious surgery and I wished it was kept for emergency use only.

epidurals are not as safe as they make out, lots end up with LONG term side effects. A girl I know has chronic back issues and constant pain 10 yrs after hers.

[Que Sera Sera]

Out of interest I wonder what the cost difference is between the two? Does Medicare foot the bill for an elective C section if not medically necessary ? Or NHS in the UK?

[fourcorners]

I can't imagine my obstetrician would agree to me having a elective c-section. I do have private healthcare, but there is only one hospital here with a limited number of staff and surgeons. In fact I've known a fair few ladies have their babies here and not one has had a c-section, and only one has had an epidural. The approach here is to try and make the mum as prepared for a natural birth as possible, e.g. keeping fit and eating healthily.

[Guest littlesarah]

Out of interest I wonder what the cost difference is between the two? Does Medicare foot the bill for an elective C section if not medically necessary ? Or NHS in the UK?

 

Where I live (NSW), women are not offered the option of obstetric management if they elect for public hospital care. I'm assuming that anyone having a private section would be considered to meet the Medicare rebate requirements, because the ob would be needing to ensure that their justification to perform the procedure was defensible.

 

I have been informed today that I have gestational diabetes, so I will now be transferred to the hospital antenatal clinic (rather than the community midwife program that was taking care of me) & will need to see the obstetrician and others. I realise that I am at increased risk of having a baby that is too big for vaginal delivery, in which case I will agree to a C-section. However, I'd rather not have a section because it carries higher risks than a normal delivery - especially for adhesions/Asherman's Syndrome, which can result in infertility. It also takes longer to recover fully compared to vaginal delivery. But I'd rather not be induced either, and I suspect the likelihood of induction is higher in someone with a condition that increases the risks of complications, and again, whatever is necessary to ensure the safety of my baby and myself is just fine with me. I won't fight medical advice because my over-riding concern is to have a healthy baby.

 

I'm not sure how I feel about elective C-sections - my sister had 2 because she was completely traumatised after delivering a stillborn baby vaginally. Were her sections medically necessary? Probably not, per se, but psychologically just getting through each pregnancy was enough for her to cope with, and having a definite end date and knowing what procedure was going to happen made it possible for her to make it without becoming an anxious mess. So, I don't really trouble myself with how other people's babies arrived into this world - it's not really any of my business.

[Que Sera Sera]

Psychological reasons are just as relevant as physical it's all medical. It is all our business if Medicare or the NHS are not using our money correctly and performing medically unnecessary and costly operations!

[NicF]

Choosing to have a c-section rather than a natural birth is a bit like choosing to have open heart surgery to have a stent inserted rather than having it inserted through a vein in your arm or leg.

 

My first was a 'normal' delivery. I was induced 14 days over due and ended up on a drip with an epidural. Labour wasn't pleasant but the actual birth was pain free and I had no tearing and didn't need to be cut either. The second I had placenta prevaria and had to have a planned c-section. There was a fair bit of pain afterwards and my mobility was reduced for a while but it was a good recovery all things considered.

 

Medical and and mental health reasons are good reasons to have a c-section, but don't think it is the easy, risk free option. It is major surgery and as such comes with all the risks that major surgery comes with. Rather than basing your feelings about birth on anecdotal evidence from people around you or on forums on the Internet do some proper research in to the risk factors and outcomes of both forms of birth and base any decisions on real risk factors for each.

[Guest littlesarah]

I agree about the need to do some research - I think that the problem for many people in general is that they don't know how to evaluate what they're reading, & of course we're all prone to confirmation bias.

 

As I see it, female humans are designed to give birth, and babies are designed to be born; so unless something goes wrong with that process my preferred option is to have a spontaneous labour & normal delivery. I'm actually quite sad that I may not be able to have that outcome, but I never knew until I became pregnant how I'd feel about birth so I think that a lot of women who say one thing may well end up doing something different.

[Maruska]

I agree about the need to do some research - I think that the problem for many people in general is that they don't know how to evaluate what they're reading, & of course we're all prone to confirmation bias.

 

As I see it, female humans are designed to give birth, and babies are designed to be born; so unless something goes wrong with that process my preferred option is to have a spontaneous labour & normal delivery. I'm actually quite sad that I may not be able to have that outcome, but I never knew until I became pregnant how I'd feel about birth so I think that a lot of women who say one thing may well end up doing something different.

 

Absolutely agree, unless you`ve been through it, you won`t know how you`ll react, what will be most comfortable/acceptable for you. I wanted an " all natural" birth, had both kids with epidural at the end and I`m happy, they came to the world healthy and I was fine too. A lot of people also focus a whole lot on the actual birth process BUT, IMO, not nearly enough on what comes after. The change of lifestyle - complete, totally different to what you`ve thought it would be like, and that`s my experience and my friend`s experience as well. Lack of sleep, change of family dynamics, different ( better in our case) relationship with spouse..... it`s a huge adjustment for everyone. And the responsibility for another human being will never go away . If it sounds a little negative, it`s the fatigue talking today, I love being a mom :biggrin:

[Que Sera Sera]

Totally agree. Each birth is different. I had an epidural with the first and had an 8 hour delivery with an episiotomy , all went well and I was determined to have another on the second, but she came in 1hr 15 mins so no time! With the third I was expecting a really quick delivery, he took 24 hours ! Awkward g*t :laugh:

[milliem]

I had a hugely traumatic 'natural' first birth followed by a 40 minute second birth with no intervention. The problems caused by a traumatic natural birth take a lot of time and surgical intervention to repair, and IMO a highly interventionist birth is worse than the pain and inconvenience of a caesarean. If we could all have easy births like my second, then obviously natural is better, but the vast majority of women I know had a really hard time. My midwife friend told me most female obstetricians she knew opted for elected section, based on their knowledge of the trauma caused by a difficult natural birth. A GP here told me that the caesarean rate is high in Australia as it's more convenient to schedule births in line with the consultants' golf schedules.....

 

This was a bit of a generalisation by the GP of the 'old boys' club consultants.

 

My sister is an obstetrician in QLD and she doesn't play golf. She doesn't have time for that.

 

She has one scheduled 'theatre list' day a week in which she performs elective procedures. These are pre-booked with the hospital but can be 'bumped' for emergencies so they may happen at night instead.

She only offers C sections for medical reasons. When I stay at her house, in a typical non 'list' day she will leave home at 5.30 to complete ward rounds, even though she may have been at the hospital most of the night. She then goes to her clinic and sees approximately 25 check up patients. Throughout the day she may have to reschedule check ups if some patients are in labour or for emergencies and she may have inductions ongoing. She then goes pack to the hospital to see her patients in the evening.

 

She may then 'to and fro' from the hospital for most of the night. Her only proper down time is when one of her professional colleagues takes her 'on call'

 

She has delivered over 4000 babies, of which around 450 were by C section. Her consulting rooms may not be trendy and chic, but there are three walls of photos of happy families.

 

She loves what she does. The only time I have heard her get upset is when patients don't heed advice and opt in their birth plan not to give birth in the safer hospital environment when they are at above average risk; little can be done when things go wrong quickly.

 

She works really hard, is very brilliant and I am really proud of her. :wubclub:

 

Oh and she has two daughters, both born naturally with only gas and air.

 

 

When I was pregnant I was pretty high risk and spent the last 3 months in the hospital which resulted in me eating a lot of chocolate and getting no exercise. Bored bored.

I was due for an elective C section but ended up with an emergency one the day before with a huge crash team running around me like something out of ER. I was very relieved and grateful to still be alive and have a healthy baby. The poor on call registrar was euphoric having pulled it off alone as my consultant didn't make it in on time.

 

It was a hard choice to stop at one child but I wanted to make sure I would be around to look after the one I have.

 

Millie x

[Petals]

I think wait until the time comes and go with the flow. Who cares what others do.

[Guest littlesarah]

One of my friends posted on Facebook repeatedly, complaining that the hospital wanted her to have a section because her baby was a difficult breech presentation. She was very critical of the fact that the obstetrician & midwives all said the risks were too high & they just weren't comfortable to offer a normal delivery. I think she was so focused on the birth that she almost forgot about the ultimate aim- i.e. a healthy baby & mum.

 

IMHO, it's time women stopped judging one another as mothers & started celebrating the way each of us finds our own way to take on the many roles we have to fulfil.