Home Birth Among Catholic Women?

[KellyPalmer]

Not necessarily, it can very well point you in the opposite direction (at least it did for me) . Birthing is a topic of great interest for me (lol, I am getting ready to have my 6th in less than 8.5 yrs), but the research I have done has not led me to choose homebirthing. I do understand that for some mothers the research may lead them in that direction, but for others it may lead them to the hospital despite the negative aspects that can be included (there are pros and cons for each option). I wouldn’t consider this a “source”, but for example, watching ‘The Business of Being Born’ actually served as a reinforcement of my decision to birth in a hospital environment.

I do agree, though, that it is important to educate ourselves regardless of the route we take. I have been able to address things with my OB that I would have never thought of doing had I not read about it previously. My OB is very laid back but very skilled (for example, she used a special maneuver to help deliver my 11 lb 10 oz baby vaginally). She has no problem with any deviations to the norms that I may bring up, but one thing to keep in mind is that standardized procedure often does help “cover all bases” and minimize errors. I have noticed that, at least in locations where there are more patients to track, if when we do deviate from “regular procedure” we are introducing a variable that could affect our care. We need to track our care to make sure we get the care we want. For example, when I delayed vaccination with my last baby, the hospital had no problem with it and was able to conform to my wishes, but when we got to his pediatrician it was very confusing for them. I had the schedule I wanted, and discussed it with the pediatrician to make sure he did not see any issues with it, but in each visit the nurses were confused as to which vaccines he was supposed to take and which he wasn’t and I had to be very careful to make sure he was getting the right vaccine at the right time.
My family is not very high risk for stds etc… neither of us were promiscuous before marriage, my husband is faithful (and we work from home and are hardly ever out of each other’s sight ), no drugs in our house, etc. so measures that are meant for people living a different lifestyle may be things we will evaluate to decide whether they would be beneficial for us or not. And we always discuss it with our providers in case there is something we are missing.

I also agree with the need to discuss and evaluate the impact on future children. I always ask my OB about this regarding any issues that may come up etc, and she is aware of my beliefs and my “lifestyle”. A lot of times the solutions medical professionals have for issues (and I am not just talking about OB’s) are based on the assumption that the woman will be on birth control at some point soon, and that the periods of time in which she will be conceiving/pregnant are limited and calculated.

That’s true. I should have worded that differently. I think the research tends to point towards homebirth but not that it’s the right choice for everyone who does the research. It tends to at least come up but each person’s situation is different. Hospital birth is also a good option for most people. I think there has been a movement over the last decade, fueled by parents who have encountered this information. Hospitals have then responded by improving some standard practices making it better for mothers and babies. It’s been great to watch that happen. I would be more likely to choose a hospital for birth today than even 5 years ago.

 

[Traci]

I am a Catholic homebirther My first delivery was an unnecessarian, my next two babies were born at home with the assistance of a midwife! Both of my homebirths were wonderfully defining moments in my life! God willing I hope that any future children God blesses us with will also have the wonderful experience of being born into the world in such a beautiful and peaceful way!

 

[babochka]

The hospital I am going to has an excellent record and has for over three decades been affectionatively referred to by locals as “the baby factory” due to its award winning maternity hospital. My doctor is prolife, napro trained, and his practice spans three generations and is considered one of the best in the country. Why should I forgo these conditions because others in the US have to deal with less than ideal conditions? Out of solidarity? I don’t get it.

But if the situation were different for you, and you could not get such excellent care in a hospital, would you consider the situation differently? If only every woman had such a choice! Maybe some wouldn’t be driven to look into alternatives to a hospital birth. What if your only choice was a practice that had an 85% induction rate and a 60% c-section rate? Those practices do exist. There is even one local practice that only does. Maybe an elective induction and/or c-section isn’t a problem for you, but given that both come with risks, can you see how they might be a problem for some women?

 

[KellyPalmer]

How can she say it’s not a bad thing without bringing it up?

That makes no sense.

She brought it up, she declared it a desirable thing, and she concluded that because homebirth was counter-cultural that was evidence that it was also good. I disagree and I still disagree. Whether or not something is counter-cultural doesn’t have to do with it being good or not. I do many things that are counter-cultural, but I don’t do them because they are counter-cultural. Again, that’s would make me a snob.

Even if it should happen to be true that some women somewhere were forced to give birth in hospitals, the fact remains that I am not going to be forced and even if I was I wouldn’t try to beat the system out of spite. (in this case, at any rate, there’s too much at stake.)

The hospital I am going to has an excellent record and has for over three decades been affectionatively referred to by locals as “the baby factory” due to its award winning maternity hospital. My doctor is prolife, napro trained, and his practice spans three generations and is considered one of the best in the country. Why should I forgo these conditions because others in the US have to deal with less than ideal conditions? Out of solidarity? I don’t get it.

She just said you could call her counter cultural and that’s not bad. Those are neutral statements. You’ve turned them into accusations of proclaiming its “importance” and “declaring it a desirable thing”. Why do you insist on these caricatures? It doesn’t lend weight to your opinions.

All women were forced into hospital for birth starting in the early 1900s.
Saints born before this time were unlikely to have been wishing for a hospital to birth in. And when the norm became hospital birth, outcomes were significantly worse. So it’s unlikely that Saints were only doing it because they didn’t have hospitals to save them.

 

[KellyPalmer]

Absolutely, and then you, the patient, make the decision based on the best information that you have been able to gather. I wonder if you’re assuming that any competent doctor would never advise a woman that it is safe to have a home birth, let alone a home vbac? Not every doctor will tell you the same thing. I had one doctor tell me that I shouldn’t have any more children. That was two children ago. I’m glad I listened to the doctors who believed that it was safe, and to myself. Doctors are not without their own bias. Some doctors believe that 2 children is plenty, and there is no need to take any risk of future births. Why not just tie your tubes after your 2nd c-section, then you won’t need to worry about possible complications with multiple c-sections? Those doctors do not share my worldview. It was much better for me when I found a doctor who respected my faith and convictions. Some would say that the doctor who supported me in having a 5th baby and 4th c-section was biased in giving the advice that she did. These are just such complex and personal decision and I think we should offer more support and encouragement to women for whatever decision they make. (I haven’t always been of this opinion, by the way. I used to be very judgmental about other women’s choices, particularly with elective c-sections. God has, perhaps, gifted me with 4 c-sections of my own to help me get over my judgmentalism.)

Excellent points! I had an OB who was a homebirth advocate and even gave me a referral to my homebirth MWs (CPMs) so that my insurance would provide coverage.

 

[KellyPalmer]

Absolutely, and then you, the patient, make the decision based on the best information that you have been able to gather. I wonder if you’re assuming that any competent doctor would never advise a woman that it is safe to have a home birth, let alone a home vbac? Not every doctor will tell you the same thing. I had one doctor tell me that I shouldn’t have any more children. That was two children ago. I’m glad I listened to the doctors who believed that it was safe, and to myself. Doctors are not without their own bias. Some doctors believe that 2 children is plenty, and there is no need to take any risk of future births. Why not just tie your tubes after your 2nd c-section, then you won’t need to worry about possible complications with multiple c-sections? Those doctors do not share my worldview. It was much better for me when I found a doctor who respected my faith and convictions. Some would say that the doctor who supported me in having a 5th baby and 4th c-section was biased in giving the advice that she did. These are just such complex and personal decision and I think we should offer more support and encouragement to women for whatever decision they make. (I haven’t always been of this opinion, by the way. I used to be very judgmental about other women’s choices, particularly with elective c-sections. God has, perhaps, gifted me with 4 c-sections of my own to help me get over my judgmentalism.)

Excellent points! I had an OB who was a homebirth advocate and even gave me a referral to my homebirth MWs (CPMs) so that my insurance would provide coverage.

 

[ExGratia]

This is the direct quote. You can read it for yourself. I think the problem here is that you have gone beyond rationally justifying your position to the point that you consider homebirthing part of who you are. (Not unlike some homosexuals define themselves by their life choices.) Anything anyone says against it will be seen by you as a direct insult.

Are you accusing me or a different poster of being an existentialist? Doing does not precede being, and what we are children of God created in his image.

Also, since you are accusing me in another post of choosing homebirth to be counter-cultural, I reassert that I chose homebirth because I had considered all the options and concluded that homebirth would be the safest, gentlest way for my situation.

The sodomy comparison is disgusting. Are you saying that sodomy and homebirth are both intrinsically grave?

I will have to wait until tomorrow to read your reply, if you have one, as I am through with this for the evening!

 

[Allegra]

Absolutely, and then you, the patient, make the decision based on the best information that you have been able to gather. I wonder if you’re assuming that any competent doctor would never advise a woman that it is safe to have a home birth, let alone a home vbac? Not every doctor will tell you the same thing. I had one doctor tell me that I shouldn’t have any more children. That was two children ago. I’m glad I listened to the doctors who believed that it was safe, and to myself. Doctors are not without their own bias. Some doctors believe that 2 children is plenty, and there is no need to take any risk of future births. Why not just tie your tubes after your 2nd c-section, then you won’t need to worry about possible complications with multiple c-sections? Those doctors do not share my worldview. It was much better for me when I found a doctor who respected my faith and convictions. Some would say that the doctor who supported me in having a 5th baby and 4th c-section was biased in giving the advice that she did. These are just such complex and personal decision and I think we should offer more support and encouragement to women for whatever decision they make. (I haven’t always been of this opinion, by the way. I used to be very judgmental about other women’s choices, particularly with elective c-sections. God has, perhaps, gifted me with 4 c-sections of my own to help me get over my judgmentalism.)

I would not work with such a doctor. My mother had three c-sections after I was born and they were all uneventful. I don’t think most women have c-sections all willy-nilly, though they probably do have them based on the ill advice of some corrupt doctors. I imagine this is especially true in clinics. After all, if they can talk them into a c-section, how much easier is it to say, “How about a tubal ligation, you know, while I’m in there. It’ll save you a surgery!”

 

[Allegra]

Are you accusing me or a different poster of being an existentialist? Doing does not precede being, and what we are children of God created in his image.

Also, since you are accusing me in another post of choosing homebirth to be counter-cultural, I reassert that I chose homebirth because I had considered all the options and concluded that homebirth would be the safest, gentlest way for my situation.

The sodomy comparison is disgusting. Are you saying that sodomy and homebirth are both intrinsically grave?

I will have to wait until tomorrow to read your reply, if you have one, as I am through with this for the evening!

I think you should wait until tomorrow to reply because this post makes no sense and you should probably cool down before writing any more. In no way did I say that sodomy and homebirth are both grave or even that either is grave. That’s not even remotely close to what I said. I suggest that, not unlike some homosexuals, you consider your choices to be such a part of your identity that you can’t tolerate anyone who doesn’t agree with the choice. You seem to see rejection of your ideas about birthing to be a rejection of you as a person, in fact, an insult to you. If you don’t like the idea of being compared to homosexuals, then change it to an over-zealot teen who is slightly more enamoured with her favorite boy band then most people can understand. She considers “her music” to be part of who she is and so when her parents say they are sick of hearing it all the time, she considers it to be a slight against her as a person. I think your anger and unreasonableness in your posts support this idea. At least, that’s how it seems to me from reading your posts which are really unecessarily angry and passionate over a subject that is a matter of prudence and feelings and not really morality.

You are the one who brought up the arguement of being counter-cultural as a virture of homebirth. I certainly didn’t argue that one must always follow the herd on every matter so I don’t know why you would bring it up other than in defense of your position. If you are now saying that the counter-culture factor should not sway a person’s important choices, then I would have to agree with you.

 

[Allegra]

All women were forced into hospital for birth starting in the early 1900s.
QUOTE]

This can’t be what you meant to say. It doesn’t hold up to reality. Everyone has at least one great grandma who was born at home. My grandmother was born at home because they couldn’t afford the hospital. They couldn’t afford a doctor. She was born in 1910. My grandmother born her first two children at home because there was no hospital. She lived on a dirt road that was hours from any town. She did get a doctor though. Are you trying to say that some women were forced into hospitals or that women who could go to hospitals were aggresively encouraged to? I’m honestly trying to understand what you mean, but in the long run, it doesn’t matter for me. As I’ve said, I have a really good hospital and lots of pretty good hospitals to choose from. I’m not being forced.

 

[Allegra]

Hospitals here don’t take the babies away to the nursery unless the mother requests it. As you might guess, I would not allow it. I wanted my babies with me.

That’s the way it is around here, assuming the baby doens’t need additional medical care. My sister had her baby with her the whole time. I wouldn’t want to send my baby to the nursery either.

 

[Xantippe]

“All women were forced into hospital for birth starting in the early 1900s.”

Really? Rounded up by the police? Seriously? And so early?

I don’t know whether this is a good source, but here’s a more plausible number from what looks like a pro-midwifery site:

“In the United States, 1939 was the turning point when more babies were born in hospitals than at home. Since then, the percentage has risen steadily to about 98%. During the same period, the percentage of births attended by midwives had plummeted to 10% by 1935.”

birthpsychology.com/free-article/introduction-birth-scene

This is from the CDC:

“At the beginning of the 20th century, for every 1000 live births, six to nine women in the United States died of pregnancy-related complications, and approximately 100 infants died before age 1 year (1,2). From 1915 through 1997, the infant mortality rate declined greater than 90% to 7.2 per 1000 live births, and from 1900 through 1997, the maternal mortality rate declined almost 99% to less than 0.1 reported death per 1000 live births (7.7 deaths per 100,000 live births in 1997) (3) (Figure 1 and Figure 2).”

So, during the period of transition from home births to hospital births during the 20th century, there was a 99% decrease in maternal deaths and a 90% decrease in infant mortality. That is quite a tribute to the efforts of US medicine.

If we take the early 20th century numbers as our “natural” baseline, nearly 1 in 100 births led to the death of the mother and 1 in 10 babies died before their first birthday.

Maybe, just maybe, US women were tired of seeing their sisters and mothers and friends and babies die, and were happy to switch over to the relative safety of hospital childbirth.

 

[lifeisbeautiful]

That’s true. I should have worded that differently. I think the research tends to point towards homebirth but not that it’s the right choice for everyone who does the research. It tends to at least come up but each person’s situation is different. Hospital birth is also a good option for most people. I think there has been a movement over the last decade, fueled by parents who have encountered this information. Hospitals have then responded by improving some standard practices making it better for mothers and babies. It’s been great to watch that happen. I would be more likely to choose a hospital for birth today than even 5 years ago.

I disagree if you mean that it tends to point towards homebirth being a better option, I think opinions of people that have researched the topic can vary greatly there, but I do agree if you mean that it simply comes up during research and that a person that had a negative view about homebirthing to begin with can end up with a more favorable view.

 

[lifeisbeautiful]

About c-sections, when I was calling the hospitals around here to check their c-section rates and hospital protocols, I talked with one hospital employee that had just gotten back from a convention dealing with the very subject of there being too many C-sections in the US. She told me it took place in Southern FL (around Miami) and that there was a hospital in Miami with near 50% rate C-section… She said they were mainly planned c-sections for convenience, and a lot of these were because of the patients demanding it, not because of the doctors recommending it. The patients insist on having a planned c-section so they don’t have to go through labor, for cosmetic reasons, so they can plan it so it doesn’t interfere with the rest of their lives too much, etc. She says you would be surprised at how the csection rates go up around the holidays etc per requested by patients. Apparently for liability issues etc many doctors go along with it.

Liability is a big issue as well… it seems like legally if a doctor does a C-section they have done their best to save mother and baby. I know lawsuits are a big issue with ob’s… when I was pregnant with my 3rd we were going to be in a different state for several months and then coming back home to deliver. My OB’s office said they would take me back when I came back no problem, although it was a liability for them, but when I tried to find an OB in the different state, I was open to anything, midwife, OB, family doctor, anyone that could give me prenatal care, all I got was one no after another. I even called the state health dept and my state health dept to see if there were any programs or anything, but everyone said no, they could not take a patient like that temporarily because of the liability of when I come back home to deliver, that they would still be liable. I was going to pay everything up front cash, because I did not have a maternity rider on my insurance anyways, but they still would not accept it. I ended up getting the number for an elderly OB-Gyn that said he would take me. He ended up being a really cool guy, that went to work every day with a bowtie, and sometimes brought his adult son with down’s syndrome to his office. His son was very sweet and well loved by the office staff. It was a great environment and you could tell this OB really loved life!

 

[babochka]

So, during the period of transition from home births to hospital births during the 20th century, there was a 99% decrease in maternal deaths and a 90% decrease in infant mortality. That is quite a tribute to the efforts of US medicine.

If we take the early 20th century numbers as our “natural” baseline, nearly 1 in 100 births led to the death of the mother and 1 in 10 babies died before their first birthday.

Maybe, just maybe, US women were tired of seeing their sisters and mothers and friends and babies die, and were happy to switch over to the relative safety of hospital childbirth.

Midwives are medical professionals these days, just as doctors are. They also benefit from the advances in medical technology. They are able to provide the same prenatal care given by doctors. In many states, midwives,even those who are not also nurses, are able to carry and use pitocin and oxygen, as well as insert an IV if necessary. Today’s midwives are not the same as midwives of yesteryear, any more than today’s surgeons are the same as the barbers who used to do surgery.

 

[Allegra]

She said they were mainly planned c-sections for convenience, and a lot of these were because of the patients demanding it, not because of the doctors recommending it. The patients insist on having a planned c-section so they don’t have to go through labor, for cosmetic reasons, so they can plan it so it doesn’t interfere with the rest of their lives too much, etc. !

Why for cosmetic reasons? The mother doesn’t come out looking better. She’ll probably have a scar. Some people think the baby looks better, but I can’t tell the difference. I also don’t see convenience. I guess it’s more convenient for some people to know exactly what day they need to be off from work and of course for the person scheduling the doctor and the surgeon it’s very convenient, but I don’t think that’s worth it to have a surgery. The mother usually has to stay in the hospital longer and I’m told be several sources that it takes forever for your GI track to return to normal. I’m really hoping I don’t have to have one, but if one is required to save my little girl’s life, then I’m thankful it’s readily available. I’ve never been in any kind of surgery before in my life!

 

[Sarabande]

Why for cosmetic reasons? The mother doesn’t come out looking better. She’ll probably have a scar. Some people think the baby looks better, but I can’t tell the difference. I also don’t see convenience. I guess it’s more convenient for some people to know exactly what day they need to be off from work and of course for the person scheduling the doctor and the surgeon it’s very convenient, but I don’t think that’s worth it to have a surgery. The mother usually has to stay in the hospital longer and I’m told be several sources that it takes forever for your GI track to return to normal. I’m really hoping I don’t have to have one, but if one is required to save my little girl’s life, then I’m thankful it’s readily available. I’ve never been in any kind of surgery before in my life!

A couple years ago I read about how many celebrities and wealthy women were electing for a c-section even if it wasn’t needed. I can’t remember where I read it, but it was shortly after giving birth to my first and I just thought it was crazy. Part of the “cosmetic” reason was that they didn’t have to have their private area stretched and/or ripped apart during vaginal delivery and incur some of the problems women sometimes face later in life down there due to childbirth. Another reason it was such an “easy” choice for them was that most apparently would get plastic surgery to get rid of the scar and that awful bump or “apron” which most women get from the surgery.

I had the first c-section because it was an emergency. Believe me, although the hospital stay was wonderful and relaxing for me with both children, and I received excellent and attentive care and honestly probably would have loved staying there for two weeks in my private room, catered to my every need, I would never elect for the surgery. As the nurses reminded me after the first was born and I was trying to move around like it was nothing… this is major surgery and shouldn’t be treated lightly. The recovery takes much longer, losing the weight takes longer because you can’t be active right away, and tightening up all of the lose skin around the scar area is more difficult to achieve. It has been 15 months since my son was born and although the scar looks great and I healed beautifully, the “apron” is still there, albeit much smaller due to a lot of hard work.

The well-being for my child was first and foremost (as it is with most mothers) and that was the only reason why I agreed to having major surgery. My children are healthy and alive.

 

[Sarabande]

This can’t be what you meant to say. It doesn’t hold up to reality. Everyone has at least one great grandma who was born at home. My grandmother was born at home because they couldn’t afford the hospital. They couldn’t afford a doctor. She was born in 1910. My grandmother born her first two children at home because there was no hospital. She lived on a dirt road that was hours from any town. She did get a doctor though. Are you trying to say that some women were forced into hospitals or that women who could go to hospitals were aggresively encouraged to? I’m honestly trying to understand what you mean, but in the long run, it doesn’t matter for me. As I’ve said, I have a really good hospital and lots of pretty good hospitals to choose from. I’m not being forced.

Until the 1940s, the women in my family gave birth at home with either doctors or midwives. My grandmother was apparently born right in the kitchen. She was the 7th and last child as her size (10 lbs) ripped up my great-grandmother so badly she needed padding and such to keep parts of her from falling out, so-to-speak, later in life and finally, after pushing by her children, got surgery. My three aunts and their babies who died were also doing it at home. The babies were extra large. Please note, I’m not relaying these stories as fear-mongering as this was a different time, different ideas and understanding of the practice of medicine and birthing traditions and mortality rates for children and mothers were higher back then. It wasn’t too unusual to know women or infants who died during childbirth or even from common diseases we take for granted today (ie. My grandmother lost a brother when he was a toddler after having the flu or something like it, and another brother later on to TB) but still awful and tragic all the same.

My mother, who is now in her 60s, was basically born in the jungle during WWII while her family was hiding from the Japanese soldiers. There was no real medical help, but my grandmother came through well and went on to bear 4 more children (she had 10 in all although one boy died of pneumonia during the war because they couldn’t get him to medical care). As I mentioned in a previous post, in that country at the time, the doctors did not deliver babies. The nurses were trained in midwifery because they would be expected to deliver the children.

I am just thankful that today we do have better advances in medicine and science, as well as have the information at our fingertips to make the best choices for us and our families, no matter what it is. It would be great if more hospitals and midwives could work together and we weren’t ruled by the insurance companies. I honestly think that they hurt the art of practicing medicine.

 

[ExGratia]

I think you should wait until tomorrow to reply because this post makes no sense and you should probably cool down before writing any more. In no way did I say that sodomy and homebirth are both grave or even that either is grave. That’s not even remotely close to what I said. I suggest that, not unlike some homosexuals, you consider your choices to be such a part of your identity that you can’t tolerate anyone who doesn’t agree with the choice. You seem to see rejection of your ideas about birthing to be a rejection of you as a person, in fact, an insult to you. If you don’t like the idea of being compared to homosexuals, then change it to an over-zealot teen who is slightly more enamoured with her favorite boy band then most people can understand. She considers “her music” to be part of who she is and so when her parents say they are sick of hearing it all the time, she considers it to be a slight against her as a person. I think your anger and unreasonableness in your posts support this idea. At least, that’s how it seems to me from reading your posts which are really unecessarily angry and passionate over a subject that is a matter of prudence and feelings and not really morality.

You are the one who brought up the arguement of being counter-cultural as a virture of homebirth. I certainly didn’t argue that one must always follow the herd on every matter so I don’t know why you would bring it up other than in defense of your position. If you are now saying that the counter-culture factor should not sway a person’s important choices, then I would have to agree with you.

There’s actually no anger in my posts. I enjoy debating!

One who defines themselves by their actions is, in philosophy, an existentialist. Sorry that made no sense to you. Unless you reread your post and considered them as a whole, I can see it not making sense. So mea culpa!

I merely mentioned that homebirth is a counter-cultural choice, since the OP wanted to know how many Catholic moms choose it. That is, to say, that it is uncommon in most circles (including mine. I have no friends or relatives who had one, and I am not part of some kind of counter-culture movement). I said a well considered choice that goes against the cultural norm is not necessarily bad. That the majority isn’t always right. That is all. And then I stated that you must make choices that go against the popular culture, as you are a faithful Catholic, and that in and of itself is not the cultural norm.

I chose homebirth because I wanted a private, peaceful birth in a safe place. Period. I have two amazing little boys who I did everything I could for since before their both to ensure their health, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. I faced some real opposition (CA doesn’t count, only people I actually know) and believe it made me a better mom who is confident in caring for her children.

I acknowledge homebirth isn’t for everyone. Someone who would be petrified at home would not progress in labor as well. And there are a minority of pregnancies that need intervention. All in all, God’s design of women is wonderful, and women were designed to have babies!

 

[Johanna_C]

I would not work with such a doctor. My mother had three c-sections after I was born and they were all uneventful. I don’t think most women have c-sections all willy-nilly, though they probably do have them based on the ill advice of some corrupt doctors. I imagine this is especially true in clinics. After all, if they can talk them into a c-section, how much easier is it to say, “How about a tubal ligation, you know, while I’m in there. It’ll save you a surgery!”

This is actually a big problem, as I see it, for catholic women giving birth in a hospital. Mothers of large families are sometimes treated like incompetent psychos. I have more than one friend who had a c-section consent form show up with an added tubal legation that was not requested or even discussed. I have one friend who had a nurse push sterilization during a dangerous placental abruption. Regardless of your opinion on the morality of sterilization, it is unethical to the nth degree to pressure a mother to make that decision when she is in pain or distress, but apparently this happens. I am not sure if tubal legation with a c-section is normal now or if mothers with several children are being singled out, but either way it is an alarming testament to the anti-child mentality of the medical establishment.

My own mother was never able to get pregnant again after her second c-section, which she was pressured into despite it not being medically necessary. Weather this was because of the scar tissue or some action of the doctor, we will never know, but she was young, in good health, and conceiving at regular intervals before the surgery. She always wanted more children.