I am 16 weeks pregnant and want to have a natural birth, but due to family history I was considered high risk and am going to teaching hospital for my pre-natal care. The majority of the screening test are over and my baby girl is just fine. My doctor is very good but I haven't talked with him about delivery. So, I want to go in prepared when I do.
How can I find out a hospitals c-section rate?
Ask them. Pick up the phone and call the office and ask.
Reply:Ask your doctor or call the hospital and ask them.
Reply:I got that information from my prenatal class. It does seem like more and more women are having c-sections though.
Reply:Finding out the hospital's c-section rate is just one part of the task ahead of you. You will also need to know your doctor's personal c-section rate. But even then, you need to educate yourself on many aspects of labor and delivery in order to prevent the Cesarean. You should not be required to have a Cesarean simply because your mother and grandmother had them. Chances are, they like many other women in their generations and ours were misguided about their need for a Cesarean.
Research has shown that unnecessary Cesareans are performed for two main reasons: Failure to Progress and Cephalopelvic Disproportion (baby too big, pelvis too small). The reason I say that these procedures are unnecessary is because midwives help women give birth AT HOME all day long and the FTP and CPD rates are almost zero. Why is it that women giving birth at home have such high success rates compared to women who give birth in hospitals? It is because the hospitals are for sick people and the hospital environment makes it so much easier for a doctor to convince a woman that she needs help having her baby. Pregnant women, in general, are not sick people. If you eat right, take the right vitamins and supplements, and exercise properly your body will be adequately prepared to give birth naturally. The home birth midwife prepares the woman for the miracle of bringing a baby into the world in the natural way that she was created to do. Hospitals are a great place to labor and deliver if complications are expected and in emergency situations, but in a lot of cases the complications that arise are actually caused by invasive interventions that are performed by the doctor.
Here are some such procedures:
*** Labor Induction- When a woman's labor is induced through unnatural means, the pain is usually so bad that she begs for pain medication. The meds knock her out, as well as the baby. Did you know that your baby has an active part in the birthing process? It is something inside the baby that triggers labor in the first place. Then, as the baby is being delivered, he is navigating himself down the birth canal-maneuvering his head and shoulders so that he can get out. When he is sedated by drugs, he can not do this. So everything locks up and progression stops. Then here comes the doctor, wanting to perform the Cesarean because of something that HE did in the first place. Do you think it odd that If progression somehow stops during a HOME BIRTH, as long as the baby's fetal heart tones are fine, the midwife just goes back to bed and checks on you later. That's all that needs to be done. But that usually doesn't happen at home, because most midwives will not use drugs. The truth is, labor sometimes takes hours, but the best way to progress is naturally without any intervention. God will not let that baby stay in there forever. If you do want to speed up the process, there is an herb called BLUE COHOSH. The Indians used it during labor to help dilate the cervix. It has been used to start real labor, but it will not start labor unless it is time. I would start by taking 2 capsules. Maybe do this every 12 hours? It's not an exact science and it is based on your own body chemistry. (Wait until at least your due date to start this.) And, of course, sexual intercourse releases substances into your body (from your partner) and triggers your own hormones to begin labor.
***Lying in a bed on your back is the WORST position in which to labor - except standing on your head, of course. It goes against the flow of gravity. Try to have as much mobility as possible during the first stage of labor. The baby pushing DOWN on your cervix helps you to dilate. Lying on your back may pinch some blood vessels that otherwise would help with the labor process.
*** Some people believe that EPIDURALS increase the risk of Cesarean because it slows down the progress. If you must have one for any reason, try to wait until you have dilated as much as possible. Certainly do not let the doctor administer the epidural before you are at least 5 cm dilated.
*** Another reason that many doctors perform Cesareans is because they say the woman's pelvis is too small and the baby is too big (Cephalopelvic Disproportion or CPD). They show her x-rays that "prove" the baby will not fit through. (You know, God made a mistake making this woman's body...) A chiropractor pointed out that the pelvis is made (by God) to become "elastic-like" during delivery. The pelvis WILL be sufficient to deliver the baby when the time comes. There are few instances where the woman's body is REALLY incapable of giving birth. The CPD rate for home births is, well, it doesn't happen. Honestly, the rate would be extremely small. Midwives try every "trick" in their bag to encourage the baby to find its way out. Doctors don't have time for that, so they just schedule a c-section. One doctor used this excuse on a woman. She later found out that the baby was breech, but that the doctor was not comfortable delivering a breech. He made her think that HER BODY was the problem when, really, it was his insecurity. Isn't that a great reason to put a woman through such an ordeal? We really must educate ourselves more.
Here's a great book to read on the subject:
**** SILENT KNIFE: CESAREAN PREVENTION AND VAGINAL BIRTH AFTER CESAREAN by Nancy Wainer-Cohen %26amp; Lois Estner
Although this book is written for women who want to have vaginal births after experiencing Cesareans, it give valuable information that will benefit any woman who is going to give birth. It outlines many procedures that are done on women and unborn babies that are not necessary. Many of these interventions lead to the need for Cesareans.
Educating yourself is your best tool for getting the child-birth experience that you want. I am not saying that your doctor (or all doctors) will lie to a woman in order to get her to consent to a Cesarean. I also am not telling you to try to have your baby at home. That is certainly a very personal decision that many women are not ready for. But you certainly don't want to be uneducated about your options when you are at your most vulnerable point during labor/delivery. When you have to make that decision, you want to be as educated about your options as you can be. You should not have to depend on the doctor or hospital policy to tell you what is best for you and your baby.
If you design your birth plan well, you can have a "home birth" atmosphere while delivering in a hospital birthing suite. Tell your doctor if you would like or dislike certain procedures (ie., no episiotomy, no shaving or enema, baby stay with mother at all times, Vitamin K by mouth instead of injection for baby, full range of mobility). If you do not tell him/her that you want these things, then they will do what is the most convenient for them. But in most cases, when you inform them of your desires they will try their best to oblige. It is just that not very many women know, understand, or care that they can have a better birth experience that does not have to end in a Cesarean.
*Please remember the newborn babies that have been kidnapped from hospitals! This is the main reason that I advocate telling your doctor that you do not, under any circumstance, want your baby taken out of your sight. Most hospitals, on your request, will perform all of baby's necessary exams while still in your room and allow 24 hour "rooming in". If, for any reason, your baby must be taken to the nursery or elsewhere, make sure that you, your husband, or a trusted family representative, can accompany the baby. Otherwise, I would find another hospital. We can not longer count on other people to protect our children. We are their protection.
I have much more information on how to avoid specific procedures such as Episiotomies, and how to have the best care for your newborn. Please Email Me or check out some of my other answers.
*I have also designed my own Birth Plan in case I have to deliver in a hospital. It is designed to provide the most private, least invasive experience for us and our baby. I would be glad to share that with anyone.
ovary
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