Birth, The American Way

the reason

This isn't an either/or issue. Indeed, there are times when surgical intervention is necessary. There are women who chose to use medical interventions such as drugs. However, there is also a population of women who chose to experience natural childbirth in their home with a trained midwife. Are any of these "better" overall? In my opinion, women deserve options. Each individual needs to look at what is best for her, her baby, and her family. Educate herself on risks and benefits. Complications can occur no matter where you are, but that doesn't mean you have to limit your options "just in case," nor does it mean that government should step in and dictate how, where, and with whom you should birth your babies. I've experienced c-sections, hospital births, home births, and even the death of an infant at the hands of a surgeon. I fight for my rights to chose my birth options because the medical establishment where I live makes choice base on liability and not on what is in the best interest of the mother and child.

i don't believe that pitocin and/or epidural are "bad" per se, it is a woman's choice...but it's a fact that the use of them lead to cesarians that otherwise might have been avoided...

remember that

Fascinating that the lead paragraph addresses statistics for Latin America. Is the book being published in those countries? Or, are we in the US to be frightened by statistics from a medical system other than our own? I am also disheartened that at one point even epidurals are thrown into the mix as a bad choice. I've said before, and I'll say it again, I've been in many painful situations and none of them was made better by foregoing painkillers. Concussion - better with painkillers. Meningitis - better with painkillers. Oral Surgery - better with painkillers. Labor - WAY better with painkillers.

Part of medical care is pain management. People who are in extreme pain are more easily exhausted and less able to focus. I was induced for both of my children, had an epidural for both and they are beautiful healthy girls.

I'm glad that Ricki Lake had a great birth. Do you have a story of someone who tried a home delivery and perhaps it did not go smoothly? Do you tell any other side of the story?

You state that women are not told of their choices. I assure you, I am a well educated professional woman who did scads of research prior to giving birth to my first child. Hmmm, let me think... a mid-wife who is not my OB, a pool of water for hours, no epidural, messing up my own sheets, and no medical staff to assist me in caring for my new child after the birth when I'm exhausted...OR...register into a hospital, surrounded by medical staff who are sure to document my wishes clearly, epidural, monitors, and help at every step of the way. I'd do it my way over and over again. Please don't assume that I am uninformed just because I make the decisions that are right for me.

If your point is to scare people, keep it up. If you wish to inform, then please use statistics that are valid within the US, tell both sides of the story, and don't blame everything on insurance and hospitals' bottom lines. Give your fellow women some credit for making their own choices.

I am a 37 year old mother of 2 children born via c-section. It's hard enough to think that I might have failed as a woman to birth my children the "correct" way without reading everything that is published to reinforce this. When a woman does everything in her power to birth that child, and yet they still cannot be born vaginally, I am grateful for the skilled surgeon standing by to save that child's life. Labor is painful- I know. But consider the pain of then having your abdomen cut open and the weeks that pass when you cannot even sit up in your own bed- let alone carry your baby without fear of dropping him. If I had a CHOICE, I would have chosen to be a "real woman" and given birth vaginally. I would have chosen to not have a scar, or a "pooch" belly that will not go away. But the best choice I did make was to have my children born healthy, without brain damage. That choice I will never regret and I suspect that many mothers share my feelings. So don't just assume that everybody is choosing c-sections because they're "cool." Believe me, they are far from cool.

i would urge anyone who assumes that a c-section is 'just as good' as natural birth because the result is the same in the end to read this article titled 'the ecstatic birth - the hormonal blueprint of labor'...it lays out in scientific terms the wonderful love hormones that are released with each contraction, that women who opt for elective c-section completely miss out on...the article also features a lot of eye-opening information about why hospitals are so quick to intervene with the natural process of birth - i.e. to stay in control of the situation, because a woman in natural labor is controlled by no one...

you can find the article here http://www.mothering.com/articles/pregnancy_birth/birth_preparation/ecstatic.html

After 32 hours of labor I had not progressed past 8.5 cm. I had 2 epidurals because the first line had fallen out. My daughter's heart rate was very low and so was mine. A c-section was not only necessary but a relieff from what was a long and stressful labor. I had a very positiive experience with my c-section. While I feel fortunate to have had the experience of going in to labor, despite the pain and complications I am also relieved to know that all my future births will be by c-section. I think women need to do what is best for them and it is small minded to think that one way is best for every woman. This goes along the same lines as breastfeeding and being a working mom or stay at home mom. There is NO reason any one person should think their choice is the only or best choice. It HAS to be what is best for you.

seriously,
I read through every one of these so-called "excuses" for considering a C-Section over natural child birth and noone, not even the author of the original article had the "moxy" to bring up the subject of sex. All women are under the impression their vagina will stay the perfect size of they choose C-Section. they might not state it, but future sex with solid equipment is essential in today's society.

I think that Block (who discussed changing the perception of birth from bloody and painful to one of a natural process) is on the right track. The key, IMO, is education and ownership of a pregnancy. For instance, my wife and I are expecting a child in 2 months. We have decided to go the natural path, and avoid as many interventions (and unnecessary post-delivery procedures) as possible. It is EXTREMELY difficult to find support for this sort of birth plan, leading my wife to change both OB and hospital to find a supportive environment.

"Oh, honey, you don't get a badge for going through that labor, you know?"

Or, "You know you get a baby at the end anyway, even if you get drugs, right?"

But more than that, pay attention in your conversations with mothers who have delivered less-than-naturally... my wife and I found that in discussing our plans with these women (whoever they are in our lives - friends, co-workers, family), though they might agree that natural is better, they always exempt their own delivery because it was somehow special. Or different. Something specific to them precluded them delivering naturally.

It comes down to education. Even breach babies, the one big indicator for C-Sections mentioned in the article, can be delivered naturally (my wife's father was a breach baby). Not to mention that there are methods and techniques to try to get a breach baby to turn. Don't get me wrong, there may well come a time for interventions and possibly even a C-section, but I think much of the reason for the rising number is (a) convenience for the mother and doctor (abominable), and (b) lack of education.

And not only of the options and the repurcussions of those options, but also education of what parents will face in the delivery room. If you have not considered the possible outcomes, the possible dilemmas and choices you will face (and, yes, this means research), then the doctors and nurses are going to find that and exploit it as a weakness. Let's face it, if you haven't considered a question in the comfort of all the months leading up to the delivery, there is little chance that you are going to be in any position to make the best choice in the delivery room when you or your wife is in pain and the doctors are playing on your fears.

Don't get me wrong, it doesn't have to be adversarial. Having bucked the "traditional" approach (and since when did natural birth plans become less than traditional?) all along as we prepare for the new addition to our family, my wife and I have had to constantly defend our decisions and fight for the birth experience we want. I may come across a bit strong in my tone, but the bottom line to the whole thing is that you have to educate yourself, own your pregnancy, own your birth plan, and know that you are doing the best thing for your baby.

I was induced at 38 weeks due to the sudden onset of extreme hypertension. My birth plan had been to have an entirely natural birth. When my blood pressure skyrocketed, I had to change my thinking, and agreed to the Pitocin. I labored for four hours without anesthesia before pushing out a beautiful, healthy baby girl. Guess what? It was hard work. It was painful. It was bloody. And I would do it again in a heartbeat.

What shocked me was that while I was delivering, 9 new nursing students crowded into my suite to watch their first in-person vaginal delivery. In the largest hospital in a medium-sized city, I was the first vaginal birth in more than THREE DAYS. I understand emergencies do happen, and if ever necessary I would opt for a section before jeopardizing my health or that of my baby. But something about a hospital having NO vaginal births for 72 hours strikes me as being a little off.

I believe that there are few real instances when a C-section is required, I would never say in those cases, that women should be denied the procedure. I believe that it is the repsonsibility of every woman to research the options and the risk assosciated with each intervention she may recieve before she goes in to labor, Certified Professional Midwives and Certified Nurse Midwives are awesome resources to assist women in this venture. as a C-Section is major surgery there are risks for the baby as well and those need to be weighed against any benefits of elective C-sections. Studies have shown that there are more people who can birth vaginally who think that a section is thier only option. Birthing in American is a business and I think we need to follow the money when we look at the increase in C-Sections.

I was induced at 38 weeks due to the sudden onset of extreme hypertension. My birth plan had been to have an entirely natural birth. When my blood pressure skyrocketed, I had to change my thinking, and agreed to the Pitocin. I labored for four hours without anesthesia before pushing out a beautiful, healthy baby girl. Guess what? It was hard work. It was painful. It was bloody. And I would do it again in a heartbeat.

What shocked me was that while I was delivering, 9 new nursing students crowded into my suite to watch their first in-person vaginal delivery. In the largest hospital in a medium-sized city, I was the first vaginal birth in more than THREE DAYS. I understand emergencies do happen, and if ever necessary I would opt for a section before jeopardizing my health or that of my baby. But something about a hospital having NO vaginal births for 72 hours strikes me as being a little off.

I had two glorious homebirths which were the most wonderful, empowering experiences of my life. I'm convinced that had I chosen to deliver in the hospital, I'd have a story very similar to the ones listed below. Both of my children weighed over 9 lbs at birth (I'm 5 feet tall) and my second had the cord wrapped around his neck four times! Both babies came out pink and yelling. Had I been in a hospital with pitocin running (I was past my due date with both) strapped to a machine and lying on my back, both of my babies would have experienced extreme distress and I would have had a cesarean.

i am a small framed woman as well (5'7", 110lbs pre-pregnancy) and delivered a 9lb 8oz baby naturally at a birthing center...i do not buy in to the correlation between the size of the woman and the size of the baby and her ability to deliver...it's all about faith in oneself and one's body...fear is the main culprit of emergency c-sections...if our culture spent more time teaching and supporting women about the process that their bodies were made for, and less time pushing this idea that childbirth is a horrible, painful ordeal, we would have a much lower rate of cesarian in our country.

I also delivered my daughter via c-section after 18 hours of labor and thank goodness this option was available. The cord was wrapped around her neck and she would have died if she was delivered vaginally. I chose to have my son delivered by c-section because this is the only way I knew how to deliver a baby and I didn't want to chance the same thing happening to my son, with a potential different outcome. I also was a little selfish by wanting to deliver via c-section because my hips didn't spread and.

I had a c-section after 18 hours of labor and thank goodness this option was available. The cord was wrapped around my daughters neck and she would have died if she was delivered vaginally. I chose to deliver by c-section the second time because I knew what to expect and the recovery time was actually shorter than the first because I was in good shape and knew what to expect. I will also say that I was being a little selfish because my hips didn't spread from delivering vavaginally.