TheHolisticParent.ORG Cesarean Section

The Holistic Parent.ORG

Cesarean Section

This word just makes me shudder. The first most important statement I would
like to make is that a Cesarean section, more commonly called a C section is
not a walk in the park. It’s not that you can schedule a perfect time, walk into the
hospital, and easily have your baby with no effort. A C section is major abdominal
surgery. There is pain involved. There is a more extensive recovery time involved.
A big problem with C sections is the complications that can be introduced for
future pregnancies. There are more risks for infants born via C section as well.
There are risks to the mother that are not present for vaginal births.

It is a completely unnatural, nonholistic way to have a baby. Just think about it.
The physician will be slicing through a woman’s abdomen, going through layers
of flesh and muscle. The woman’s body than gets pulled from each side to
widen the area for the baby to come out. The baby then gets yanked from its cozy
environment (the only environment it has ever known) without warning and
whisked away to a warmer where procedures will be performed on it. The baby
will be poked at and stimulated to breathe and cry. The baby will not have contact
with its mother right away. This is not pleasant for the baby by any stretch of the
imagination and yes, babies do feel things. They are present for their birth
experience.

With that said, there are situations requiring C sections where true emergencies
are present. If C sections where utilized only in these circumstances, however,
there would not be a national C section rate of 31.8%. Some rates are as high as
50% at some hospitals. Is there really a need for one out of every two woman to
have a C section? Of course not! The World Health’s recommendation of a safe
C section rate is around 10-15%. There is evidence to suggest rates above 15%
do more harm than good. There are plenty of midwives with rates under 5%.
Obviously, C sections are greatly overused. It is actually the most common
surgery performed on women.

Risks for infants born via C section include respiratory distress syndrome, high
blood pressure, lacerations from the surgery, and prematurity.

Risks for mothers include infection, greater blood loss, hemorrhage, blood clots,
bladder or bowel injuries, anesthesia complications, adhesions, and even
death. This list just scratches the surface of possible complications. It is
estimated that 180 women die each year from elective repeat Cesareans. One
half of all C sections performed produce complications. This is not a procedure
to be taken lightly.

Cesarean sections put a woman at greater risk for placental problems including
placenta previa (the placenta covers the entire cervix), placenta accreta (where
the placenta grows into the uterine wall- a hysterectomy must be performed),
and placental abruption (the placenta detaches from the uterine wall before the
baby is born, leaving the baby with no oxygen source). All of these can be life
threatening situations. Odds of ectopic pregnancies, infertility, and miscarriages
are also increased due to Cesareans.
The only true circumstances necessitating a C section are as follows: prolapsed
cord, uterine rupture, placental abruption, pelvic deformity resulting in
cephalopelvic disproportion, complete placenta previa at term gestation,
transverse lie at complete dilation, true fetal distress, fibroid tumor blocking
cervix, active outbreak of herpes, true fetal distress, and eclampsia or HELLP
syndrome with a failed induction.

Check out the resource section for some great websites on Cesarean sections.
With a little research, it is very possible to avoid an unnecessary C section.

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