Fearful moms choosing c-sections more often?

by Amy Hatch (Subscribe to Amy Hatch's posts) Oct 30th 2008 9:00AM

Categories: Newborns, Just For Moms, Babies, Pregnancy & Birth, Safety, Medical Conditions, In The News, Mommy Wars

Asking a woman if she would rather give birth vaginally or by c-section is a little like asking her if she would prefer having her fingernails pulled out or a fork stuck in her eye.

Newsflash -- it hurts either way.

However, women in the United Kingdom are requesting c-sections more and more often, and one of Britian's leading midwives (do we have a leading midwife?) claims that women under 40 are "less prepared" for the pains of so-called "natural" childbirth.

Louise Silverton, deputy general-secretary of the Royal College of Midwives, said that the number of women opting for c-sections is "unacceptably high and needlessly high," and that surgery puts both mother and child at risk. The National Health Service allows any woman to request the procedure, but guidelines require a good clinical or psychological reason.

The statistics would seem to bear her out -- one out of every four women in England delivers via c-section -- but I have a hard time believing that the majority of these surgeries are optional. My own two children were both delivered by c-section, and I certainly didn't request it.

My daughter was breech -- blocked by a fibroid tumor, she was unable to turn. The doctor gave me the option of attempting to turn her, but there was an infinitesimal chance of fetal death. After agonizing over the decision, I opted to have the surgery instead. After all, that put the majority of the risk on me instead of her.

It was my first decision as her parent, and it was the right one. My son was also born surgically, since those pesky fibroid just won't got away.

Let me tell you, morphine drip or no, major abdominal surgery ain't exactly a walk in the park. In this case, the old saying "pay me now or pay me later" holds true. There just isn't a painless way to give birth, and you carry your battle scars no matter what the method.

So tell me, what would you do? Are you afraid of vaginal birth? Would that motivate you to go under the knife instead?

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Comments (17)

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

khrystena 10-30-2008 @ 10:03AM

I was more afraid of a c section than I was a vaginal birth. I delivered vaginally too. I already had 2 major stomach surgeries before lazer came into the scene and even after 10 and 15 years I remembered the pain of recouperating from them. I didn't want to do it again

michelle 10-30-2008 @ 11:29AM

I have had 2 vaginal births, one medicated with an epidural and one fully unmedicated. I have a valid fear and trauma from hospitals and do not want to be in one unless I have to be. I would only go for a c-section if it was absolutely necessary. Most women's bodies are made to have babies, some need assistance and that is what the drugs and surgeries are for. Not because it would be more convenient for a doctor or client/patient. I am not saying that the author did this she had a valid medical reason for the c-sections. However, I have seen and heard too many women say they were either coerced into thinking they needed one (not for medical reasons) or that they want the baby on their own time schedule to believe that our current c-section numbers are out of necessary medical intervention.

Jenn 10-30-2008 @ 11:38AM

Of course I was afraid as a first time mom, but I planned on going the natural (or maybe with an epidural) route. Unfortunately, things did not turn out that way for me, and I ended up with a C-section.

Unlike others, I don't remember a lot of pain from the 'section. The first day was a bit rough, in the "not being able to move around a lot" kind of way, but within 36 hours, I was already skipping doses of the pain killer, and wasn't in any pain at all by the time we left the hospital. Except for sneezing. oooo, yeah, sneezing & coughing were uncomfortable, to say the least.

What bothered me most was the having to be so careful about the way you moved, and not being able to lift or strain. And getting out of our sofa was harder than it was right before I had the baby!

Greta 10-30-2008 @ 11:41AM

I've only had one birth, and it was unfortunately c-section. I would never ever choose to have a section over a natural birth. I was in extreme pain for several days and it took the full eight weeks to get back to "normal" (I still feel like my body is a little messed up from the operation, almost six years later). I remember clearly going out for a walk about a week after she was born, and I could barely make it a block, hunched over and taking baby steps. I've seen my sister after her natural births practically running the very next day.

JoAnn 10-30-2008 @ 12:33PM

On the day that I was due I was monitored for having detected decreased fetal movement. The baby was fine- but because it was my due date and I had stated that I noticed the issue, hospital protocol was to induce. Problem with that was that I was neither effaced or dilated, and the baby's head had not dropped into the canal. Needless to say, I went through 23 hours of hard labor and still ended up having to have a C-section.

I was very disappointed and sort of "mourned" for the loss of what I had imagined my birth experience would be. I hadn't wanted a c-section, and I was told that if I refused to be induced (the baby was better than fine according to the monitor and so inducing was not exactly NECESSARY, but precautionary) I would have had to sign a refusal of care, which meant that any ramifications would fall squarely on me. It was a risk I wasn't willing to take.

Looking back, aside from the pushing- I did SORT of go through both natural and c-section birth considering I had hard labor for so long. I still wish that I had experienced it the way I had imagined it would be in my mind's eye.

mommy2turtle 10-30-2008 @ 12:59PM

I was more afraid of a C-Section. I knew I would be the only one home and heard you're not supposed to pick the baby up often for the first few weeks, etc. I also wanted to experience birth since I knew this would most likely be my only chance, due to conditions beyond my control. I finally gave in to epidural 17 hrs in (I still wasn't dialating), but I'm one of those rare few that it doesn't work on, so I got my wish and felt all the perks of natural birth. Wouldn't have had it any other way. It was a great experience. 27 total hours, 19.5 in the hospital, labor complications and all, we almost opted for the C-Section when both baby and I went into full blown tachychardia (heart arythmia), but we didn't have to and I was so glad. I wouldn't even bother with the epidural next time- it's really a great experience just to feel everything and know you did it. Now, medical reasons, I wouldn't play with- I'd say "cut me" in a heartbeat... That's different than just telling yourself you're not strong enough to do what women for thousands of years did without 1/10 the help we have today. Sorry, but that's bogus and selfish.

mamaloo 10-30-2008 @ 1:21PM

Most of the problem of primary c-sections is not that they are far more difficult to recoup from than the average vaginal delivery, but that they are associated with very high maternal and infant mortality and morbidity. I wrote about one of the things no one ever talks about as a very real consequence of c-section is loss of future fertility: it's harder to get pregnant, harder to maintain pregnancies, easier for babies to implant in the scar/tubes/adominal cavity, easier for placental problems, more hysterectomies... http://www.hamiltondoula.com/?p=103

kelly jeanie 10-30-2008 @ 2:16PM

I had a c-section for my first child and, though I don't remember the recovery being that bad, I would have gone for the vaginal birth my second time around. Unfortunately I live in a small area that does not do VBACs. The thought of major abdominal surgery scares me more than the vaginal births women have been doing since the beginning of time.

misty 12-16-2008 @ 4:59PM

I had to have a c-section w/my daughter 3 months ago. My husband and I attended child birth classes, read everything we could get our hands on about labor/delivery & had our bags packed in case I went into labor early. With that said, I still had to have a c-section. I WANTED a vaginal delivery & felt like less of a woman when the dr told me it was dangerous for me to attempt it. SO I scheduled the exact date and time that my daughter would be born and decided to make the best of the situation because I had to. Knowing I had to have a c-section was scary and I feel like I 'missed out' of the true labor/delivery process. Either way, I have been told the recovery is hard. I don't remember being in all that much pain and it seemed 'easy' - recovery and all. I have a wonderful healthy baby girl and at the end of the day that's all that matters.

Sara 10-30-2008 @ 4:38PM

Some women actually opt for c-section to preserve the muscles of their vaginas at their husbands urging....how awful, selfish and vain. But true sometimes.

Nicole R. 10-30-2008 @ 5:19PM

(do we have a leading midwife?)

- - - - -

Yeah, we do -- Ina May Gaskin, author of "Spiritual Midwifery" and "Ina May's Guide to Childbirth." She and the midwives she works with have something like a 2% C-section rate. Compare that to the appalling U.S. average, now approaching one third of all births!

The problem isn't medically needed C-sections, of course, nor elective C-sections (which are kind of a red herring), but those C-sections caused by medical interventions that slow the progress of normal labor or otherwise cause normal labor to become complicated.

auroramia 10-30-2008 @ 6:14PM

I had a scheduled C section, I was 40 at the time, was preclamptic and my fluids were low, but I asked for one and it was perfect!! I was recovered in 4 days. If I get the chance to do so, I would do it again in minute!

Karen 10-30-2008 @ 6:35PM

My water broke, but I didn't go into labor, so the hospital had to induce. My cervix was uncooperative, so after almost 2 days of labor and my development of a fever, the doctor told the nurses that they should start prepping for a c-section. I asked her to try the tongs first, and after a heroic effort by all involved, we got my baby out the way she went in.

Happy ending in a way, but I was one of those cases where we should have gone to surgery earlier; because of the extended labor, my baby had to spend 2 days in the NICU getting antibiotics to ward off infection from the meconium, and I wasn't able to nurse her for nearly a day. I would never *opt* for a c-section, but I don't know how many of these "optional" c-sections were for valid concerns about fibroids, tilted uteri, and other issues.

I will also repeat a common refrain and ask y'all not to judge other moms. Each woman has to face the birth experience on her own, and her fears and concerns might not be the same as yours -- but that doesn't make them less valid.

Kirstie 10-30-2008 @ 8:25PM

At 19 and being only in college, I'm certainly not birthing a child any time soon. I already know, however, that I'll almost definitely have to opt for a C-section at the suggest of my hematologist. I have a bleeding disorder, and there's a large risk of hemorrhage after vaginal birth because of it. I haven't got a strong opinion either way - so long as I have a healthy, happy baby afterward and I don't bleed to death I'm happy! =] Not for several years, though. =]

However, the stigma of c-section already scares me, years from childbearing. I've heard a woman's studies group on campus discuss the necessity to "empower" yourself with natural birth and avoid the "shame" of a "false, medical birth". Shouldn't the goal be healthy children and moms, regardless of how the children come into the world?

Donna Ryan 10-30-2008 @ 10:06PM

I was bracing myself for pro-C-section comments, but these were good, thoughtful, educated comments. Glad to hear someone mention Ina Mae Gaskin -- I thought the same thing when I read that comment about not having a leading midwife! Also glad that someone mentioned the risk to subsequent pregnancies and babies when a woman continues having c-sections. Our nation is in crisis when it comes to birth. Love all the movies this year that are bringing this issue into spotlight: "The Business of Being Born," "Orgasmic Birth," and "Pregnant in America." I am a natural childbirth educator in North TX, where the c-section rate is an astounding 50%! I feel like I'm climbing an uphill battle, where people don't even want to be educated about the benefits to unmedicated, intervention-free birth. Check out my blog: www.banned-from-baby-showers.blogspot.com (I really don't go to baby showers!)

hudsonsmommy 10-31-2008 @ 10:27AM

One week after a failed induction, and 41.5 weeks pregnant, I chose to have my son delivered via c-section. He was a large baby, and I had only dilated to 2.5 cm. My husband and I, along with the doctor's suggestion that our child would end up being born via c-section anyway because of his size, agreed this was the best thing for our son. He was born that night, scoring 9 on both his APGARs. He was healthy, safe, and very "overcooked"! It wasn't the most pleasant thing I have ever done, but it was what was best for my son. It was scarier to me than the thought of a vaginal birth, but the doctor implied a stage 3 or 4 episiotomy would inevitably be needed and would most likely still result in an emergency c-section. I chose to have a c-section, rather than selfishly put myself and my child in a situation that could have ended badly. No matter how the child is born, the outcome is still the same. You are exhausted, sore and you have a wonderfully gorgeous baby in your arms that you can't stop looking at! I wouldn't change a thing about choosing a c-section. The pain subsided within days, and I had my baby!!! It was worth it. I will be having c-sections with all of my subsequent children.

erika 10-31-2008 @ 12:43PM

I had PPD and PTSD after my emergency c-section. It took me over a year to even TALK about my c/s. There's no way in HELL I would elect to choose that and I plan on having a VBAC with any future children.