Tag Archives: CPD

Your Body is Not a Lemon

C-section rates With the cesarean section rate hovering right around 33% in the US, one can’t help but wonder if there is something wrong with the women in our country. Have we really reached a point in history where 1 out of every 3 of us is no longer capable of giving birth vaginally like women have been doing since the beginning of time? Being a doula in Utah does mean hearing a lot about peoples previous births (which I do love by the way) and a lot of times I hear “Well I just don’t know what is wrong with my body but it was just impossible for me to birth the baby vaginally so I had to have a c section.”  This is usually followed by a slew of reasons the doctor provided like I wasn’t progressing enough or my pelvis was just too small.

A healthy cesarean rate should NEVER under any circumstances be above 15%. If your Doctor’s rate is above this I would strongly recommend finding a new care provider! Truthfully, according to the World Health Organization the rate should be under 10% and in some practices the rate is as low as 2%!

Cesarean sections are not without risk! Some of the risks to mother include infection, hemorrhaging, injury to organs, adhesions, greater risk of complications with future pregnancies and labors, etc. And let’s not forget risks to baby such as breathing problems, difficulty breast feeding and more. Why would doctors perform them more than is medically necessary

Understanding our nations high c-section rate is complicated. I will try and tackle it to some extent. Part of the problem in all honesty is that our maternity care system has little interest in enhancing the woman’s ability to give birth. Enhancing a woman’s ability to give birth is the main purpose of a doula and there is a reason that doula attended births have a 50% lower c-section rate! The high rate of inductions is not helping us out either. If mom and baby are not physically ready for labor but are forced into it artificially there is a good chance that things won’t progress and the baby will need to be cut out. Not to mention pitocin decreases baby’s oxygen because of the intense contractions. Low oxygen= fetal distress= cesarean. Another problem is that woman who have already had a c section are often told by their doctor that vaginal birth is no longer an option for them (this is mostly due to insurance concerns and not health.) Unfortunately fear of litigation plays a role, as does convenience for doctors who can schedule in a 20 minute surgery rather than wait for an unknown amount of time for a vaginal birth.

Now please understand, I never said that cesareans should never be performed. Medical complications can lead to a definite need for a cesarean. Some emergencies that may require the assistance of surgery include prolapsed cord (cord emerges before baby) placenta abruption (where the placenta separates before the birth), placenta previa (where the placenta partially or completely covers the cervix), fetal malpresentation (transverse lie, breech [breech can sometimes be managed by External Version, exercises or a vaginal breech birth], or asynclitic position), cephalopelvic disproportion (CPD, meaning that the head is too large to fit through the pelvis. This can be over diagnosed, it can be caused by maternal positioning either from restraint to bed, lack of mobility or anesthetics.), maternal medical conditions (active herpes lesion, severe hypertension, etc.)

I do not claim to know exactly who needed a c-section and who didn’t in this country and I am grateful that mothers who would have had no hope can now deliver and keep their beautiful babies. This article is not about persecuting those who have had cesareans, it is about informing those who don’t want one unnecessarily!

All I ask is that you keep this in mind:

“Remember this, for it is as true and true gets: Your body is not a lemon. You are not a machine. The Creator is not a careless mechanic. Human female bodies have the same potential to give birth as well as aardvarks, lions, rhinoceri, elephants, moose, and water buffalo. Even if it has not been your habit throughout your life so far, I recommend that you learn to think positively about your body.” — Ina May Gaskin (Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth)