Gentle Caesarean? Family-centered Caesarean? Natural Caesarean?
Pshaw!
Having had two unnecessary c-sections, this childbirth educator can tell you with certainty that there is NOTHING gentle, family-centered or natural about having major abdominal surgery, of which, a caesarian is classified under.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO): The rate of caesarean section births in the U.S. was 32.7 (!!!) percent in 2013 — well above the “medically necessary” target of 10 percent to 15 percent that WHO says is ideal.
More: Our high C-section rate does not produce a lower maternal or infant mortality rate:
a. The maternal mortality rate in the United States has climbed in the past two decades, and is considerably higher than the rate in other wealthy countries such as Germany, Canada, and the United Kingdom, according to the World Bank. For other countries, the rate has actually decreased!
b. The infant mortality rate in the United States is grim – double the rate of countries like such as Japan, Finland, Portugal, and the Czech Republic, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
For those women in the US who have undergone a caesarean: of course they are told by their physician that it was medically necessary. But as you can see, the statistics do not support that claim.
Why are women submitting to unnecessary when the statistics do not support a superior outcome through caesarean surgery?
They are scared into into it.
During labor, women are told their babies are too big, too small, that it’s stuck, the fetal heartbeat is too rapid, too slow, the labor is taking too many hours, etc. Those situations, of course, are all natural variations from the norm.
For me, I was told that I could die or that my baby could die if I didn’t submit to the surgery. And this, because my baby was 2 weeks “late.” Who wouldn’t submit if they thought their baby could die?
There are many reasons for the unnecessarily high section rate in our country, and the first has to do with money. The rest has to do with labor being as variable as other normal human bodily functions. Think bowel movements – and you’ll get the picture! Physicians have lost the ability to deal with natural variations from the norm. Once a labor isn’t going exactly textbook, out comes the knife.
Midwives, however, have kept up their skill-set.
Here are some interesting statistics to consider: The Farm in Summertown, Tennessee is run by midwives. And it not only has a section rate of 1.7%, but it also has some of the best maternal and infant outcomes in the United States!
The reason?
The Farm’s clients get superior care. The midwives spend copious amounts of time with each woman they serve, and they do not place arbitrary limits on labor.
In conclusion: America’s caesarean section rate is yet one more reason that even conservative Americans are diving into alternative medicine with both feet.
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