Planned Cesarean – Check out these LAME advantages for an UNnecessary Surgery
I’m a little put off by this article from WelcomeBabyHome about the advantages of a planned c-section.
There are pros and cons to every situation. Some people consider it an advantage to birth surgically since there is time to plan the events. This means you can choose the date of delivery (unless your baby arrives early). For those who fear labor pains they don’t have to endure it; you simply arrive at the hospital and the steps leading up to the procedure will be conducted in an orderly way. You are spared of the ‘vaginal interrogation’ done routinely for women in labor to measure dilation. Finally with a planned c-section your partner will be able to be with you during the operation.
Notice, they say there are pros and cons, but don’t actually LIST the cons. Let me dissect this a little for you!
“time to plan the events” – Ok really? We’re not talking about planning a trip to the mall, or planning when we’ll take a car to have it washed. We’re talking SURGERY. There is nothing about a baby that is timed, so why should his birth be?
“you can choose the date of delivery” – I’d like to choose the date Fedex drops off packages to my house, too, but it doesn’t always work that way! Why is the date so important? Babies were meant to arrive on their own time, not the time you decide to pluck it from the womb.
“for those who fear labor pains they don’t have to endure it” – Are we digging for pros here? Really? There are many other ways, LESS evasive and invasive, than major surgery to not have to “endure the pain”. But really, what did you think was going to happen at the end of nine months? The stork?
“the steps leading up to the procedure will be conducted in an orderly way” – I guess, “conducted” is about right. But really? Let’s see, starve yourself and your baby for hours before the “procedure” (major surgery and BRINGING BABY INTO THIS WORLD, by the way), answer all the same questions you have to if you didn’t plan surgery, get all decked out in the hossy garb, complete with hairnet and screen so you can’t see what’s going on. Medicate the lower half of your body so you have absolutely no control over anything. Kick everyone, except for maybe the hubs or your mom our of the operating room (not delivery room), and multiply your level of birth fear by about a jillion.
“spared of the ‘vaginal interrogation'” – Even as a labor doula, I can’t believe I just read this. Let me get this straight. You’d rather have your body cut open, your baby forcibly extracted from it’s safehaven, multiple stitches, days of recover in the hospital and months of pain following the surgery, than you would let a midwife or a couple of nurses check your cervix a few times? Vaginal interrogation. Ha.
“your partner will be able to be with you during the operation” – You know, because there is NO possible other way to birth a baby with your partner by your side.
Sometimes, I wonder what people are thinking when they’re looking to fill some web space. I mean, I know that most people feel the need to include everyone these days, but at least research substantial pros and medical reasoning before posting something on the internet. Don’t get me wrong, there’s a time and a place for c-sections, but this was just a very lame, and misleading attempt to make scheduling an UNNECESSARY surgery look good.
The vaginal interrogation one cracks me up since my midwife was so very hands off throughout my homebirth. That said, I did absolutely despise the checks for the hospital birth as well as many other aspects of hospital birth, so personally I’d just say skip the hospital if you want a nice birth ^_^
Haha, right! But, I’ll take vaginal interrogation over a slice in the guy ANY day! 🙂
also did you hear? you can say “No” when they offer to check you out down there until someone sees a head.
Yeah I’d say their whole argument is completely ridiculous. Nothing about parenting is on time or orderly, and oftentimes not even free of pain! And really? If you can’t handle a vaginal birth because of all of THOSE reasons, then maybe you shouldn’t have let your vagina be interrogated in the first place!
First off this makes me sick…. I cant understand why “planning” and “reducing pain and invasion” would be important… How bout we talk statistics of how many end up in the NICU with respiratory stress issues and how many of them fail to breastfeed.How bout how long it takes to heal and the scar tissue that can cause issues in the other pregnancies… I see this “procedure” as a last option … and only if mama and baby are at a REAL risk!!!! I don’t get women now days…. Ok i better quit!!
I understand that a C-section can be necessary occasionally. It can be life saving for mother and/or baby. But when the C-section rates soar way above the WHO recommended rate of no higher than 10-15% a year (I heard that the rate is up to 50% in Brazil!), I think there needs to be some re-evaluation of childbirth procedures.
It really disgusts me how C-sections are now advertised and encouraged. What can I say… it’s big business.
Just wow… I can’t believe they’d tout this invasive surgery as a GOOD option for childbirth. All doctors want is more cash in their pocket and to get home in time for dinner rather than wait around for a woman to give birth. I’m thinking about becoming a midwife, and it sickens me that the most natural thing for a woman to do has become so medicalized. Women are completely losing their power over their own bodies, are told that they can’t possibly cope with labour, and they believe it because the ‘white coats’ told them so. C-sections are necessary, and they have saved many lives, but like others say, it is a LAST resort, not something you willingly go through and plan. Women need to get their power back. I watched ‘The Business of Being Born’, I really recommend it to anyone interested in this topic.
“‘spared of the ‘vaginal interrogation’ – You’d rather have your body cut open, your baby forcibly extracted from it’s safehaven, multiple stitches, days of recover in the hospital and months of pain following the surgery, than you would let a midwife or a couple of nurses check your cervix a few times?”
Amen! I mean really, surgery is far worse than a few cervix checks. My c-sec WAS one of the necessary ones, and I would have happily endured so many of those other “disadvantages” in order to avoid it if that had been possible. I agree with Amanda, skip the original “vaginal interrogation” and you won’t have to worry about pregnancy at all!