tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4181472671648618071.post6763635824382210232..comments2023-10-18T15:20:33.029+01:00Comments on cesarean debate (now caesareanbirth.org): ICAN's response to press release contains disappointing inaccuraciescesarean debatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01711913972260724246noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4181472671648618071.post-71143587153529369112008-11-04T14:28:00.000+00:002008-11-04T14:28:00.000+00:00labortrials - I am very sorry that your birth expe...labortrials - I am very sorry that your birth experience and subsequent pregnancies have been so traumatic, and I deeply sympathize with everything you have gone through. I can completely understand why you feel so negatively about cesarean delivery.<BR/><BR/>With that in mind, I write my next words very tentatively; I hope that you are not offended by them, but rather see them as a proffered alternative perspective on birth experiences such as yours.<BR/><BR/>Have you ever considered what might have happened had you not had your first cesarean delivery? You say that you were 'unable to push' your baby out, and this is just one of the many reasons why emergency primary cesareans are performed. I'm sure you are aware of highly publicized cases in which a timely cesarean is not performed and the baby or mother are severely injured, or even worse, die. <BR/><BR/>I think that as a modern society, we have become so reliant on medical emergency care that there is sometimes a danger that we take it for granted - particularly in the case of childbirth. It is easy to forget that generations of women before us were all too aware of the possibility of death in childbirth, and today, we have a tendency to over-romanticize the process of giving birth.<BR/><BR/>You blame your 'super safe major surgery' for everything that has happened to you since your baby's birth, but nothing about childbirth is inherently 'safe' and it never has been. Your cesarean may have served no other purpose than to save your life or your baby's life on a day that (without access to a 24-hour operating theater) could have ended very differently.<BR/><BR/>So if indeed you did have an emergency cesarean, there are two main issues here in relation to criticizing women whose preference is planned cesarean delivery. First of all, an emergency cesarean is associated with far greater morbidity risks (both short- and long-term) than planned surgery, and secondly, it remains a fact that for some women, if they HAD to choose between one child delivered via cesarean or more than one child delivered vaginally, they would still choose a cesarean.<BR/><BR/>Now, let me stress that the latest research shows that subsequent stillbirth and infertility are NOT risks associated with planned cesarean delivery with no medical indication, but that said, I entirely agree with you that the decision to have a cesarean should involve consideration of future planned surgeries. <BR/><BR/>ACOG and the NIH recommend that only women planning small families should really consider cesarean delivery as a birth choice.cesarean debatehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01711913972260724246noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4181472671648618071.post-82053121515967752332008-11-04T14:05:00.000+00:002008-11-04T14:05:00.000+00:00Anonymous - I really appreciate your more balanced...Anonymous - I really appreciate your more balanced view on this issue and in particular, your agreement that women should be able to decide individually on which set of risks and benefits are most acceptable to them. <BR/><BR/>I understand that women are finding it difficult to arrange a VBAC in some areas of the country, but the 'easy access' to cesarean delivery that you refer to is, I'm afraid, not true either. I am often contacted by women who are struggling to have their cesarean choice respected, and this is precisely why I don't think it serves anyone well for ICAN to be publicly criticizing their choice.<BR/><BR/>In fact, VBAC is associated with incontrovertible risks, and yet ICAN (and other groups like it) supports it as a legitimate birth choice. I therefore cannot understand ICAN's decision NOT to support another birth choice (cesarean delivery) on the grounds that there are risks involved.<BR/><BR/>There are risks associated with EVERY birth type, and while it is perfectly acceptable that different women will make different decisions based on these risks, I believe it is unhelpful and unethical for a national birth group to decide, on behalf of women, that only risks associated with vaginal birth (be they primary PVD or VBAC) should be supported.cesarean debatehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01711913972260724246noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4181472671648618071.post-76685705560303085962008-11-04T03:13:00.000+00:002008-11-04T03:13:00.000+00:00There is compelling information readily accessible...There is compelling information readily accessible that fleshes out the numerous physical and emotional problems that can occur following cesareans. Additionally, cesarean birth does compromise the healthy function of the mother-baby dyad. It's not to say that women who have cesareans DON'T bond, don't breastfeed, etc., but certainly medicalized birth puts mother and baby individually and collectively at risk.<BR/><BR/>I willingly consented to a cesarean after being unable to push my baby out. I wasn't fully aware of the risks and complications that would plague me during the rest of my reproductive life and beyond. I had a mass of adenomyosis removed recently from above my cesarean scar. The surgeon said it was likely caused by the cesarean. Has that alone contributed to my recurrent pregnancy losses?<BR/><BR/>The fact of the matter is that women aren't encouraged to look at their reproductive LIFE when contemplating cesarean or vaginal birth. I wasn't too upset about my cesarean until I started thinking about having another baby. Now I realize that the cesarean has changed everything, possibly compromised my fertility, and has DEFINITELY limited MY CHOICES for the future. That super safe major surgery changed everything, compromises my future, and has potentially left me bankrupt.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4181472671648618071.post-27369854928878271142008-11-03T20:52:00.000+00:002008-11-03T20:52:00.000+00:00ICAN does offer a wonderful white paper on how to ...ICAN does offer a wonderful white paper on how to plan a family centered cesarean. http://www.ican-online.org/pregnancy/family-centered-cesarean You are fortunate to have easy access to OBs offering planned cesarean. Women who seek spontaneous vaginal delivery have fewer choices, which is why organizations like ICAN are growing. I live in SC where women travel to bordering states to see providers who support VBAC. Some who can't afford this stay home and deliver without the benefit of medical support. I'm glad you were able to plan and achieve the birth you wanted. I wish there was more medical support for spontaneous vaginal birth, especially for VBAC women. I don't like the way the media pits women against each other regarding birth. Each type of birth carries its own set of risks. It should be the pregnant woman who ultimately decides since she'll live with the outcome. Unfortunately, few providers support VBAC, leaving too many women without access to local medical care.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com