| Caesarean Section* |
| Written by Devan Allen | |
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C-sections can save the lives of both mothers and infants in many risky cases. However, the evidence suggests that they are prescribed too often in the United States. According to a 2007 study by the WHO (World Health Organization), the cesarean rate of any region in the world should range between 10 and 15 percent, because higher rates of morbidity (deaths of infants or mothers) are found in countries with C-section rates either above or below that range. Yet, in 1989, 24% of US babies were born by C-section and 18% of Canadians, and over one-third of all cesareans were repeat cesareans. In 2007, the rate of caesarian births in the US reached a record high of 31.8 percent. A nurse blogger writes: C-sections involve major abdominal surgery and are therefore inherently dangerous. To begin with, they can be emotionally traumatic for the mother who is separated from her child in an cat the moment of birth. Mothers who've had C-sections expose themselves to severe health risks. They can get infected, or hemorrhage blood, in which case they will need blood transfusions -- risky medical operations in themselves. Surgery can damage organs near the uterus. Anesthesia also has problems of its own, as we learned from the untimely death of Michael Jackson; too much anesthetic can send a mother into coma. One statistic says it all: mothers who have c-sections die during childbirth anywhere from twice to four times as often as mothers who opt for vaginal births. C-sections can also traumatize babies, not only by increasing the risk of premature births and respiratory distress syndrome, but also by delaying interaction between the mother and her newborn through breastfeeding and skin-to-skin touching immediately after birth. Cesarean section rates in North America have increased for four reasons. First of all, mothers who've had C-sections for one baby usually have them for the next, because many doctors view VBACs (vaginal births after caesarians) as high-risk. These are known as routine repeat cesareans. Other medical reasons for caesarians include dystocia (stalled labor); babies in the breech position (legs down, head up instead of head pointed down towards the cervix); and fetal distress. However, Cesarean rates are shaped by economics and social expectations as much as medical need. According to some research, more careful diagnosis and management of dystocia could halve the c-section rate by 50%. Indeed, c-section rates in some parts of the world have fallen to less than 12% because doctors are encouraging VBAC and making more careful diagnoses. The highest C-section rates are for women who have private medical insurance, are private rather than public clinic patients, are older, are married, are wealthy, or have higher levels of education. In certain cases, however, Caesarian sections are the safest and healthiest alternative. These include
Caesarians are usually performed under epidural or spinal anesthesia, except in emergency cases where mothers are given general anesthetics. These sedatives are a double-edged sword. They are likely to dull the mother's senses during the birth, making her groggy and unaware, which reduces her pain, but they can also reach the baby and make it harder for the it to start breathing. Following the birth, regional anesthesia will dull the mother's pain for a few hours, but she will have to take painkillers during her recovery from surgery.
The full surgery takes between 30 and 50 minutes, and the baby is born usually about 5 minutes after the initial incision of the skin and uterus. *This article is based on the information at http://www.childbirth.org/section, http://www.webmd.com/baby/tc/cesarean-section-topic-overview?page=2, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caesarean_section, http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/c-section/MY00214, http://www.theunnecesarean.com/ |
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