Let me say this right off the bat... I am not a risk taker, so articles like this one make me uncomfortable. I read about it on a pregnancy forum and there were definite mixed reviews. I knew how I felt, and I knew what many of the comments would be, but I read them anyway. The basic story is that there was a woman, who after having 3 c-sections, got pregnant and decided against her doctor's wishes to give birth naturally at home. Miraculously, everything was fine... hence the article (and it's subsequent airtime on pregnancy forums everywhere). There was a lot of praise for the woman for being "strong enough to stand up to her evil doctor"... those people who "felt uncomfortable" or thought the mom was lucky were quickly shot down and insulted.
Apparently the motivation was a sense of being "robbed" by being forced into c-sections. The general consensus is "once a c-section, always a c-section" because scar tissue is weak, and previous scars can rupture. This woman was unable to find a doctor within 90 miles who would entertain a "VBAC" (vaginal birth after c-section), so therefore ignored all of their advice and decided to give birth at home.
I know women have been giving birth at home for thousands of years, every home-birth advocate is quick to remind us of that... however, they are less quick to mention that until the advent of things like c-sections, hospitalized births, etc etc, childbirth was the NUMBER ONE KILLER of women (by a wide margin). Now I think it's heart disease.
I have a lot of trouble with people who talk about "doctors who'd rather cut you open than wait a few more hours for a baby to come out naturally". I had a baby... I saw the doctor a few times, but I think a c-section would have monopolized significantly more time. Oh wait... the fact that the doctor wasn't in the room the whole time is ALSO a bad thing. Good grief. Poor doctors. They just can't win.
First of all... if your doctor is going to cut you open out of boredom or laziness... get a new doctor. C-sections are major surgery. I was stuck at 9.5 centimeters for 10 hours, and they did talk about a c-section, partially because I wasn't progressing and partially because there was an abnormality in the baby's heart rate during contractions. I didn't have one. They opted instead to have me take naps (ANNOYING!) and rest on my side in hopes that the baby would shift and that we could avoid surgery.
I'm glad I didn't have to have a c-section, but not because I would have felt robbed of some rite of motherhood, I just didn't want to stay in the hospital any longer. I always wonder why we don't give ourselves a break sometimes. Ok, so, you had to have a c-section, big deal, your baby is alive and healthy and so are you. (Likely not the case before they came up with this brilliant idea). After my mom gave birth to my brother via c-section, they sent a counsellor into her room to help her deal with the grief of "not being a real mom". She looked at them, square in the eye, and said "I don't care if you took the baby out through my nose, I am a real mom."
Isn't that the point of being a real mom? Being willing to make sacrifices of yourself and what YOU want because that is what's best for the baby. I'm not a doctor... I didn't go to school for a million years and the deliver thousands of babies in a variety of different ways... so I think I'll defer to the experience of others. (That, and unless my husband is a doctor, and I live across the street from a hospital, and I have a self- cleaning house, I would never choose to give birth at home).
There are some risks I am willing to take... but guessing about the life of my baby and the life of my baby's mom is not one of them.
*sigh* Oh, please.
ReplyDeleteI am highly opinionated in this subject.. and at this stage in my life, I'd say my feelings on this are probably at their peak. haha
Childbirth, no matter how or where you do it, is serious business. So why wouldn't you want to be near medical help just incase something goes horribly wrong? You can do all the wonderful natural birthing you want at the hospital, but at least if something were to happen, help would be right there. I've actually had someone I know tell me that since her first two births were really uneventful and nothing bad happened that her third would be the same way.. so having her baby at home was no big deal.
Wait. So just because I had two boys, that automatically means my third will be a boy? Hmm.. so I guess the first birth sets the tone for the rest, meaning that the cord could never wrap itself around the second baby's neck, or the third baby's heartrate will never drop suddenly.. Good to know.
I find it hard to believe that this woman would actually be FORCED to have a c-section anyway... they just won't cut you open against your will.. And I'm going to assume that if she were to go to a hospital IN LABOR and tell them she wanted to have a VBAC, I doubt that she would be refused medical attention. Having the baby at home was not her only option. I don't think of her as a role model, but more as irresponsible for taking a risk against her and her baby's life.
If that baby previously vacated your abdomen, you are the mother!! Natural birth, c-section, VBAC, whatever! It's your baby and you are supposed to do what is healthiest for the baby. Just as you said, childbirth was the #1 killer of women, so shouldn't we be thankful for the hospitals and doctors that are available to us? I guess all medical advancement has been for nothing.
I find this article not only uncomfortable, but disturbing! Ok, maybe that is a little harsh but seriously! I was reading a blog similar to this one last year while preggo with Hudson and the opinions expressed made me SO angry that I had to force myself not read them and to quit checking for new posts..
I'm done now. :)
I know the feeling. I found this woman really irresponsible, and interestingly, I tried to find the original post that I initially read about this on, and couldn't, it was likely taken down due to hostility. people are weird.
ReplyDeleteYep. They are. I'm weird too but.. other people are weirder. :p
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