Be careful what you read - it just might make you too angry to sleep!

[MamaSueCongdon]

{{This was originally posted on my MySpace page, and I thought I'd share it here for my cafemom friends.  Anyone interested in connecting on MySpace can find me at www.myspace.com/beccamasue}}

This weekend I finished reading a great book - "Ina May's Guide to Childbirth" by Ina May Gaskin. This evening I cracked open "The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth," which is written by Henci Goer. I'm sure anyone who is reading this have read my previous postings detailing my c-section in June. I had a feeling the entire time that my c-section wasn't actually necessary, but was a result of a long list of factors that lead to me being totally exhausted in a room full of hospital staff who were waiting for me to "give up." It turns out that my feelings of paranoia might not actually be THAT "paranoid" at all! Here's just a sampling of things I've learned while reading this weekend;

1.) Cesarean is THE most common major surgery performed in this country.
2.) The consensus of medical literature indicates that HALF of the nearly 1 million CS permormed annually are not medically indicated.
3.) 4 of 5 women are monitored using Electronic Fetal Monitors - despite research demonstrating that this method does NOT improve outcomes for baby's well being, but that it DOES threaten the mother's health by increasing the use of forceps, vacuum extractions, and cesareans in response to "false alarms."
4.) The World Health Organization recommends a CS rate of 10-15%, based on findings that countries with the best maternal and infant outcomes have CS rates at this level or lower. The United States has an almost 30% CS rate.
5.) In the United States - 1 in 3 women will leave their hospital having delivered their baby via major abdominal surgery.
6.) One study showed that women are almost 5 times more likely to die from a CS than from a vaginal delivery.
7.) Babies delivered by CS are 3 times more likely to be admitted to a NICU, and 5 times more likely to need assistance breathing after birth.
8.) CS increase the risk to future pregnancies and can result in; loss of fertility, increased incidence of ectopic pregnancy, placental abruption (where the placenta detaches before birth), placenta previa (placenta covers the cervix), and placenta acreta (placenta implants into muscle tissue of uterus - usually leads to major hemorhagging).
9.) 1 in 100 women experience a paralyzed bowel as a result of cesarean surgery
10.) 6 to 18 women per 1,000 experience blood clots in their legs, and 1-2 per 1,000 in their lungs
11.) One study showed a 4.5% incidence of major complication including; severe hemorhage, need for repeat surgery to investigate bleeding, pelvic infection, blood clots, pneumonia, blood poisoning, or clotting disfunction.

As if all of that information weren't enough to make ya' go...hmmm.... there's also the information about VBACs. VBACs - or Vaginal Birth after Cesarean - have been demonstrated to be safer for both Mama and Baby than a planned Repeat Cesarean. However - most states have "bans" or policies limiting access to VBACs. The majority of the doctors who try to encourage women to choose a RCS emphasize the risk of uterine rupture - a complication associated with having a previous CS. What they don't tell women, is that the risk of uterine rupture (.4% for women with a low transverse scar who go into labor on their own) is lower than the risk of cord prolapse (1.5%) - a complication that can occur when doctors choose to rupture a woman's bag of waters before the baby has descended into the pelvis. They also don't tell these women that most cases of uterine rupture occur with the use of induction methods. A woman who chooses to accept induction or augmentation during her VBAC nearly quadrouples the potential of a uterine rupture. Interestingly enough, that risk is still only around 2% - which means that 98% of women will not experience this event. Compare this risk to the risks of choosing cesarean delivery (as listed above) and it just gets confusing. That is - until you factor in the reality that doctors get paid more for CS than they do for vaginal births. That most CS happen between 10am and 6pm, and more happen on Fridays than any other day of the week. It's a little hard to say that this is just a coincidence... don't you think?

Oh - and I almost forgot to tell you what I learned about Cytotec. Cytotec is a pill commonly used to ripen a woman's cervix prior to using pitocin to stimulate labor contractions. It turns out that Cytotec is... an ulcer medication? What? It has not been FDA approved for use as a labor induction method. There have been no tests done to determine any relative risks to mother or baby - though there have been documented cases of catastrophic uterine rupture resulting in the death of mother and/or baby when Cytotec is used. The manufacturers have actually gone so far as to make a statement saying that they do not recommend their product for use in labor induction. Huh... can someone please explain to me why Kaiser is still using this?

I guess we can just add this all to the list of things I wish someone had told me before I walked into a hospital to have my baby. After reading all of this stuff - and reading about the awesome ability of a woman's body during natural childbirth - I would sooner walk into a field and give birth alone before stepping foot into another hospital. I'll have to write more about the good stuff I'm learning another time... I just wanted to get this rant out before I try to sleep.

[veg4animals2006]

Nov. 25, 2008 at 7:59 PM

My mom had a VBAC... she's fine! LOL!

The information is scary though. This is why I prefer home births to hospital births.

[Diana_B.]

Nov. 26, 2008 at 7:03 AM

My only question in your light hearted opinion. Do you think having a c-section done to deliver a 12lb 6oz baby was a good decision on my part? I just gave birth to my second both via c-section last month. The first being fetal distress, the second was my decision after electing for a vbac due to frustration that it had been 26hrs and I still only dilated to 1 1/2cm and they refused to let me drink anything at all because they said I was at risk for a c-section. Then to make matters worse I had several doctors coming in who wasn't my doctor telling me every complication possible from delivering a very big baby vaginally which practically scared me out of it all together.

After reading this i'm so disappointed in myself but more so in the facility I delivered at. I wish I could have been allowed to drink as needed not making me feel so thirsty with dry mouth and also let me get unhooked from monitors and walk around to help baby put pressure on my cervix to help dilate and to move on down into my pelvis.

After reading this, if I do choose to have another child I think what i'm getting at is to wait till the last second to make my way to the hospital. That way i'm not being pressured by medical staff, I can still eat and drink when needed (which by the way i've read helps mothers not feel so exhausted during the labor process and has been proven to have a more successful labor experience), and I can walk around and move in different positions to help baby move down, dilate and have a more successful birthing experience.

I'm disappointed again. I wish I would have done that this time around and just waited as long as possible to go to the hospital.

[MamaSueCongdon]

Nov. 26, 2008 at 7:45 PM

Diana_B - I've read your story about your most recent birth, and to be honest I have to say I probably would have done the same thing.  In fact - if you read my birth experience I did exactly the same thing!  Spending hour upon hour laboring in a "hostile" environment where you're being restricted from giving your body the nourishment it needs, and where you have people trying to scare you is really horrific. 

I assume that my future kiddos will probably be around the same size or bigger (my son was 10lbs 120z), and I have full confidence that my body wouldn't make a baby too big to birth.  With "the big ones" it's especially important that a woman have the freedom to move as she pleases, feed herself, and be able to be relaxed and feel safe.    That's exactly why I will be choosing home birth with a midwife for our next birth.  Have you ever considered that option for yourself?

(Original Poster)

[Diana_B.]

Nov. 30, 2008 at 2:54 AM I can't choose a midwife because of a medical condition. Midwife's typically only help birth babies in women who are healthy and no medical complications. I am a type 1 diabetic. I also would be do deathly afraid of a uterine rupture as small as the stats due to a medical condition putting me at higher risk for not healing as well.

[MamaSueCongdon]

Dec. 1, 2008 at 9:16 PM

I can understand that!  Obviously the most important thing is that you make decisions based on the health of your baby.  I definitely agree that a truly high-risk woman is safest to deliver in a hospital.  It's hard to see so many women told or made to feel like their bodies "can't birth babies" just because they don't follow a timeline that docs set (that's not based on science).  But I am very thankful that they are available for women who truly need them!  Do you plan to try and VBAC with future children?

(Original Poster)

[TheBodyShopMom]

Jan. 31, 2009 at 8:08 AM

could you post these facts in vbac moms, please?