C-sections

[Xantippe]

Tarpeian Rock said:

“Given that C-sefctions are more costly than natural births, and normally lead to longer hospital confinements, and have a greater risk of post-surgical complications – all of which lead to a greater payout by the insurance company – what, exactly, would be the motivation of the insurance company in promoting C-sections?”

Avoiding death, brain damage, broken newborn clavicles and nerve damage, which can cost far more than a few thousand extra dollars.

 

[Serap]

I had a c-section with my daughter and then 2 years later, I had a vaginal birth after c-section (VBAC).

I would hesitate to have a c-section unless necessary b/c it’s extremely painful compared to vaginal birth (afterwards in recovery). Taking care of a baby after major abdominal surgery is really hard!!!

 

[Serap]

This happened with my daughter, her heart rated dropped 3 times and wasn’t rising after the 3rd drop. I was rushed into the OR and she was born within a minute, even then she has to be resuscitated. If we had waited even another minute she would have died.

God Bless!

I had a planned c-section b/c my little girl was breech.

 

[Serap]

I respect your professional opinion, but consider this. From 1981 through 1997, I gave birth to 7 children, the last one was a twin breech presentation at 37.5 weeks and that one WAS a C-Section. We now have 5 grandchildren, and ALL have been C-Sections. I find it hard to believe that this generation is no longer capable of giving birth without major surgery.

Because there is always a chance that the baby’s body could come out and the head is stuck in the pelvis. The baby would not have a chance and die even with today’s modern science.

I chose a c-section when my daughter was breech…a healthy birth was more important to me than taking a chance. Imagine if she got stuck just b/c I refused a c-section?

My second baby, I did a VBAC b/c I had all green lights to go ahead. There were no contraindications for me not to have a vaginal birth. It went well and my son was born vaginally healthy.

 

[shelby_sun]

All I know is I truly thanked God that I had to have all my children by C-section. Bless all those women who suffered hard labor and painful births. I cannot even imagine that experience. In less than an hour my children were delivered and 4 days later I was out and about.

 

[Serap]

Epidurals don’t slow labor or do not slow it substantially, at least according to the latest research findings.

Here are some blog posts from a Canadian anesthesiologist, talking about the issues.

theadequatemother.wordpress.com/2013/02/04/2-cm-810/

theadequatemother.wordpress.com/2012/02/15/epidurals-and-progression-of-labour/

Previous research showed that early epidurals slow labor. However, an explanation for those old findings was that women who are in especially difficult labors will experience more pain and ask for an epidural earlier, while women who are having easy labors may only ask for the epidural later. In this case, difficult labor causes both the slower labor and the epidural request, rather than the epidural causing the slower labor.

In the second blog post, the anesthesiologist mentions that in some women, epi
durals are associated with a speed-up in labor.

EPI’s are best when a woman is dialated at least 5 cm.

 

[Serap]

All I know is I truly thanked God that I had to have all my children by C-section. Bless all those women who suffered hard labor and painful births. I cannot even imagine that experience. In less than an hour my children were delivered and 4 days later I was out and about.

4 days later??? Not me! I could not walk without being bent over, for about 9 days and I couldn’t walk about without pain for 3 weeks.

I was walking the next day after my c-section, but it was dang painful…I’m not going to kid anyone otherwise.

I am also very athletic, weight lift and eat healthy. I exercised right up until my c-section and I was in excellent shape.

Maybe you have a higher thresh-hold for pain than I do?

 

[shelby_sun]

4 days later??? Not me! I could not walk without being bent over, for about 9 days and I couldn’t walk about without pain for 3 weeks.

I was walking the next day after my c-section, but it was dang painful…I’m not going to kid anyone otherwise.

I am also very athletic, weight lift and eat healthy. I exercised right up until my c-section and I was in excellent shape.

Maybe you have a higher thresh-hold for pain than I do?

Wow, I am sorry to hear that. I now consider myself even luckier.

Yes I guess I do have a high tolerance for pain.

 

[Serap]

Wow, I am sorry to hear that. I now consider myself even luckier.

Yes I guess I do have a high tolerance for pain.

Hey, a high tolerance for pain is a good thing when having major abdominal surgery

 

[aloe]

As far as I know there isn’t one. Just glad you are choosing life.

 

[His_helpmeet]

Yes, BUT we also need to look at infant mortality. I agree… basic medical care saves lives and access to advance medical care saves even more.

I never said I agreed with the # of surgeries performed in this country, only that the reasons driving them were/are valid. Can we do better? absolutely. Only about 10% of women who are medically able to attempt a VBAC actually choose to go that route. And when they do they are counseled that there is ALWAYS a risk of uterine rupture and the patient needs to make the choice that is right for them. Many won’t take the chance especially when they realize that future pregnancies may not be possible if the uterus ruptures.

Yes we should be doing more VBAC’s, and patients could be educated more about this, but ultimately that mother with her doctor has to make the choice that is best for the welfare of her and the baby.

Statistically, if you look at the risk ratios, almost 300 C-sections would need to be performed to prevent 1 death from uterine rupture.

 

[Xantippe]

His Helpmeet said:

“Statistically, if you look at the risk ratios, almost 300 C-sections would need to be performed to prevent 1 death from uterine rupture.”

Or to flip that around, for every 300 VBACs, one baby will die that didn’t need to die. Plus, there’s the risk of emergency hysterectomy for the mother.

(I think the numbers are actually somewhat different–I believe 1 in 300 may be the rate of uterine rupture for VBAC, not the rate of death, but I don’t have time to check at the moment. It’s still a matter of presentation, though–either it’s “1 in 300!” or it’s “only 1 in 300”, depending on how you feel about those odds. But as I’ve seen people say about this sort of thing, if your baby dies, it’s not 1/X (whatever X is) dead–he or she is 100% dead, so the actual rate is going to mean very little to you if you are one of the unlucky ones.)

 

[marymary1975]

EPI’s are best when a woman is dialated at least 5 cm.

I think you are right about this Serap, when I had my daughter my doctor did say that epidurals do slow down labor if they are given before the woman is dilated (well on the number my doctor said a different number but is close) at least 6 cm. He said that after 6 is very unlikely that the epidural causes any significant slow down. Because of this information I waited until seven cm to get the epidural and my daughter was born within one hour vaginally. I thought it was amazing because I had zero pain and after the epidural everything went very good.

 

[pensmama87]

His Helpmeet said:

“Statistically, if you look at the risk ratios, almost 300 C-sections would need to be performed to prevent 1 death from uterine rupture.”

Or to flip that around, for every 300 VBACs, one baby will die that didn’t need to die. Plus, there’s the risk of emergency hysterectomy for the mother.

(I think the numbers are actually somewhat different–I believe 1 in 300 may be the rate of uterine rupture for VBAC, not the rate of death, but I don’t have time to check at the moment. It’s still a matter of presentation, though–either it’s “1 in 300!” or it’s “only 1 in 300”, depending on how you feel about those odds. But as I’ve seen people say about this sort of thing, if your baby dies, it’s not 1/X (whatever X is) dead–he or she is 100% dead, so the actual rate is going to mean very little to you if you are one of the unlucky ones.)

I think it also matters how we define “uterine rupture.” I was watching “More Business of Being Born” (it’s on Netflix if anyone is interested) and the filmmaker (the one who ended up having a C-section in “The Business of Being Born”) had a VBAC, and one episode was devoted entirely to VBACs. The term “uterine rupture” can apparently apply to any tear of the uterus. We tend to think “explosion” but that is apparently a very small percentage of any ruptures. Many ruptures are completely non-problematic, and may even go undetected if a woman successfully VBACs.

I’d give the stats they had, but we quit our Netflix subscription a few months ago.

 

[Iheartcoffee]

There is nothing wrong with a C-section. Sometimes they are very necessary and they can prevent very traumatic or deadly births from occurring. Vaginal births are not always the safest route in some pregnancies where complications have occurred. Talk with your doctor and see what he or she says about YOUR particular situation. What worked for one woman won’t work for another. One baby may deliver safely and quickly whereas another baby starts having trouble during birth. When it comes right down to it, it is really all about making sure mom and baby can have the safest, healthiest delivery possible - however that needs to happen.

We should all just be glad that there are options for birth now so doctors and moms can pick what is best. There are different levels of pain relief, different places to give birth, and different ways to give birth. This allows moms and doctors more flexibility to make plans (or change plans!) as needed.

 

[Iheartcoffee]

Not all women were made to birth children naturally.

Have you ever spent some time walking around graveyards with older headstones? Take a careful look. You’ll see quite a few tombstones with young women, and next to the young woman’s stone you’ll see a small stone with a baby who was born and died on the same day that mom died.

These women died in childbirth. Before C-sections, many women died in childbirth. Some of these deaths were due to various infections, and others were due to mothers who are “NOT made to birth children naturally.”

I’m a big woman, and you might think I would be a great baby-birther. Not so. My pelvis is shaped like a funnel. Without the miracle of C-section technology, I would have died bathed in my own blood and screaming in agony trying deserately to push a baby out of a two-inch opening, and IF baby had survived (which she wouldn’t have), she would have been profoundly brain-damaged.

Financial scam by insurance companies? Definitely not.

I advise all women to be very careful about condemning life-saving technology in such a cavalier way.

As for the OPs query, I’m wondering if the OP is referring to C-sections that are planned specifically because a woman is “built” like me, unable to give birth naturally, OR C-sections that are planned because the couple wants to take a cruise at a certain time, and baby needs to be born first. To me, the first reason is good, but the second reason–I’m not so sure about scheduling a birth for a couple’s convenience. OTOH, I know couples who wanted the C-section scheduled because Daddy is being deployed overseas and would like to be present for his child’s birth–again, I’m not so sure about this.

But I’m fairly certain that the Church has not pronounced any ruling on the issue yet.

Thumbs-up times 1000! Thank you for posting your story. There are women for whom a “natural” birth is extremely dangerous.

A lot of people get really obsessed with “natural” birth and forget that there was once a time when natural birth was the only option most women had and it also led to a death by “natural” causes. My grandmother nearly died in childbirth. My husband’s great-grandmother died in childbirth and her children were split up and some were raised in an orphanage because their dad couldn’t raise them all on his own. Thankfully, these days we can and do intervene long before a mom or a baby has to die. This has made a lot of people forget how dangerous childbirth can be. Since few women today know a woman that has died in childbirth, many start to feel invincible. I know a lot of women that like to brag about their natural births as if they are more of a woman for refusing “useless” interventions.

My grandmother gets furious when she hears people brag about natural births as if they are better than births that required interventions. She will gladly remind someone that back when was a child and even when she was having children herself it was not out of the ordinary for someone to die. Going into labor was not always a joyous occasion. It was something that could be a very scary event as well because surviving the event wasn’t a given. She is quick to remind people that there was nothing beautiful or better about the fact that she nearly NATURALLY died. She is a huge proponent of her daughters and granddaughters giving birth with all interventions available and at one’s disposal if needed, because she did not have that luxury.

 

[Cat]

4 days later??? Not me! I could not walk without being bent over, for about 9 days and I couldn’t walk about without pain for 3 weeks.

I was walking the next day after my c-section, but it was dang painful…I’m not going to kid anyone otherwise.

I am also very athletic, weight lift and eat healthy. I exercised right up until my c-section and I was in excellent shape.

Maybe you have a higher thresh-hold for pain than I do?

I, too, had no trouble at all after both of my Cs. No pain whatsoever.

I was sick to my stomach from the anesthesia. This was my first experience with any kind of surgery, and I didn’t realize at that time that anesthesia and any kind of opiates (including Vicodan and other common RX pain relievers) upset my stomach terribly and make me barf. I had wisdom teeth removed during my first pregnancy, but the surgeon used only Novocaine since I was pregnant.

Seriously, everyone, I was REALLY horribly sick to my stomach after my Cs, to the point where I didn’t want to see or hold the baby or see anyone or anything else. I just wanted to barf and lie in bed and feel awful until the anesthesia was out of my system.

So perhaps those of you who are looking at possible C-section might want to consider asking your doc about things that can be done to keep you barf-free if you happen to be sensitive to anesthesia like me.

Serap, I’ve known plenty of women over the years who have had Cs, and most have little-to-no pain and went back to work a few weeks later, although I’ve also known a few women who suffered as you did.

The point is, everyone’s different.

 

[Rau]

Not all women were made to birth children naturally…

It is a strange fact that child-birth (the biological, unaided, process) is, in many ways, so unrefined and failure-prone in humans. A significant proportion of episodes can end so badly in the absence of expert medical (name removed by moderator)ut.

It behooves those contemplating a home-birth to think very carefully, and as a minimum, to have an adequate plan to get expert assistance promptly if required.

 

[Serap]

Statistically, if you look at the risk ratios, almost 300 C-sections would need to be performed to prevent 1 death from uterine rupture.

I actually had a VBAC so I know all the stats off by heart after doing all my research

1 in 100 VBACs can cause uterine rupture.

9 in 100 babies with uterine rupture will die from complications of it (most babies that die are b/c they are birthing with a midwife in a home or in a birthing centre without adequate medical facilities)

Other risks of uterine rupture are oxygen loss leading to brain damage in about 2 in 100 cases

ALSO:

Uterine rupture is even less if the c-section was performed as an elective procedure and not an emergency c-section. If the first c-section was elective then the chance of uterine rupture goes down to 1 in 300 births.

If the woman has had 2 elective c-sections (with bikini cut) it doesn’t really change the stats. More than 2, the chances of uterine rupture go up dramatically with each c-section. This is why most doctors will not perform a VBAC on a woman who has had more than 2 c-sections.

I had a VBAC after have a bikini cut c-section due to a breech baby. My c-section was elective and planned. My chance of uterine rupture was 1 in 300 and I gave birth in a hospital with a very reputable NICU, so my chance of death or injury due to uterine rupture was very very low.

I had a very successful VBAC. The only bad thing was that I had 3rd degree tearing b/c my son’s head was so big.

 

[Serap]

I think it also matters how we define “uterine rupture.” I was watching “More Business of Being Born” (it’s on Netflix if anyone is interested) and the filmmaker (the one who ended up having a C-section in “The Business of Being Born”) had a VBAC, and one episode was devoted entirely to VBACs. The term “uterine rupture” can apparently apply to any tear of the uterus. We tend to think “explosion” but that is apparently a very small percentage of any ruptures. Many ruptures are completely non-problematic, and may even go undetected if a woman successfully VBACs.

I’d give the stats they had, but we quit our Netflix subscription a few months ago.

Yes you are right. A woman can then still deliver via vaginal if the tear is small, but this is a HUGE risk b/c the tear could get bigger with each contraction.