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Things More Likely to Occur than Uterine Rupture
- Nov 27, 2009 at 7:52 PM
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- Comments (34) Total Views (1711) Everyone can see this journal post.
Written by Eileen Sullivan, with assistance from her husband, Patrick.
After
checking, it seems I was a bit off on the frequency of deadly lightning
strikes... you are more likely to suffer a rupture than to be struck
and killed by lightning, by about thirty times. Then again, how many
people do you know who HAVE been struck and killed by lightning?
Ruptures
are also more common than dying in a plane crash. Henci Goer's review
of the literature on VBACs found 46 ruptures in 15,154 labors. This
equates to a 0.3% rate... or 1 in 333, if you prefer. Your annual risk
of dying in a plane crash is 1 in 4000, according to one source, and 1
in 700,000 according to another. I can't explain the massive
discrepancy between the two figures, except to quote Mark Twain about
"lies, damn lies, and statistics."
Since you asked, here are some more probability statistics for you:
Your
risk of dying in a car accident, over the course of your lifetime, is
between 1 in 42 and 1 in 75. This is roughly 4 to 5 times greater than
the risk of uterine rupture.
You're about twice as likely to have your car stolen (that's an annual risk) than to experience a uterine rupture.
Your odds of being murdered are 1 in 140 over the course of your lifetime. That's 2 times more likely than the risk of rupture.
The
annual risk of having a heart attack is 1 in 160, 2 times more likely
than rupture. Your risk of dying from heart disease is roughly 1 in 6,
or 55 times greater than your risk of rupture.
The annual risk
of having a heart attack is 1 in 160, 2 times more likely than rupture.
Your risk of dying from heart disease is roughly 1 in 6, or 55 times
greater than your risk of rupture.
If you're a smoker, your risk
of dying from lung cancer is 1 and a half times more likely than a VBAC
mom rupturing during her labor.
You're about 17 times more
likely to contract an STD this year than you are to have a uterine
rupture; more likely to contract gonorrhea than to rupture, as well.
You're 13 times more likely to get food poisoning than to rupture.
You're
more likely to have twins than a uterine rupture. Odds of twins: 1 in
90. That's about 3 1/2 times the likelihood of rupture.
If you ride horseback, you're 3 times more likely to die in a riding accident than you are to experience a uterine rupture.
If
you ride a bike on the street, you are 4 times more likely to die in an
accident (annual risk) than you are to suffer a rupture.
Having a serious fire in your home during the next year is twice as likely as experiencing a rupture.
You're ten times as likely to win at roulette as you are to have a uterine rupture.
If you flip a coin, you'll be more likely to get heads (or tails) 8 times in a row than to rupture.
The risk of cord prolapse is 1 in 37 (2.7%), or nearly ten times more likely than that of rupture.
And
a final irony (heads up, those of you who want a doc to give his/her
opinion on your likelihood of rupture next pregnancy!)...
You're
6 times more likely to have a doctor who is an impostor than you are to
suffer a rupture. Two percent of docs are phonies (1 in 50), according
to several sources I found.
So instead of worrying about
rupture, why not take a few minutes to check up on your doctor's
credentials? ;) It'd be a more profitable use of your time, and a
substantially more likely cause for alarm.
Comments:
love this post. I had a successful VBAC with my son in April. I had an OB-GYN, but the practice was wonderful and very supportive of my decision. Even after 36 hours of labor (my water broke Saturday night and my son was born on Monday afternoon)they still didn't push for a repeat c-section, and they kept a very close eye on the baby to make sure he wasn't in distress. When it finally came time to push, I had him out in 3 pushes. Even after 36 hours of labor, I'd take it over a c-section any day of the week, and twice on Sunday!
Sad to say, the main reason doctors advocate repeat c-sections over VBAC is because of inadequate charting. If someone screws up and doesn't chart the EXACT location of the first c-section incision to the uterus, a determination about the safety of VBAC can't be drawn.
It is much more than that. It is convenience on the part of the doctor, liability, and the need for closer care of a VBAC mom that MANY doctors simply do not have the time for because they choose to be so over worked by taking on so many patients.
It is easier to schedule a c-section for 9am on a Tuesday then be woken up 1am on a Saturday night with a laboring mom.
Repeat C-sections ARE more about convenience than safety in most situations, especially when an OB completely rules out VBACs. A LOT of doctors now WILL NOT attend a VBAC no matter what the circumstances behind the original c-section were. It has nothing to do with the patient, and everything to do with the doctors convenience.
I have this in a VBAC journal, too! :-D
Thank you for sharing info and encouragement!!!
It is hard to work the uphill battle~ but this is really an important route: getting the consumers to demand better services.
Hopefully this will reach a mom out there who's doctor told her she's not "allowed" or that he "doesn't do" VBAC's......every woman just needs to remember that we are paying them (by way of hefty insurance costs) and therefore we are the boss, we are in charge. Not the other way around! :o)
My Dr will let me have a VBAC - it's my hospital that won't. I could go out of network to a crappy hospital & pay 40%, or pay 10% and go in network to a much better hospital. When I get closer to my due date, I'll talk to my Dr about maybe just going to the hospital in labor, they can't force me into a csection while in labor, can they?
Hmmm... I've had none of those happen.... but I've had a rupture... while not even attempting a vbac. Nope. Found the rupture during my repeat Csection. I was already in labor & didn't know it because of all the scar tissue left behind my Section #1.
If I had opted for a Vbac, I'd have lost my baby & my uterus.
Ashlynn, it is against the law for them to force you into surgery without consent from you.
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GREAT post.
- RanaAurora
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