- my iParenting
- quick clicks
- pregnancy today articles
- pregnancy today q&a
- message boards
- research baby names
- prepare a birth plan
- content channels
- ip channel rss feeds
- read birth stories
- read parenting stories
- recommended books
- e-newsletters
- safety recalls
- ip diaries
- ip store
- mom of the month
- dad of the month
- editor's letter
- letters to the editor
 |
- e-newsletters
- Sign up to receive our free weekly e-newsletters
- award-winning products
The iParenting Media Awards program helps parents find the best products for their families.
The Right to Choose
Elective Cesarean Sections
By Shel Franco
"Elective Cesarean sections are a lot like circumcisions to me," says Nan Tolbert, R.N., director of the Ojai Birth Resource & Family Center. "They are doable, they are available and they appeal to some people (depending on their cultural and religious and personal belief systems that are in place)."
Knowing the date of your baby's birth gives you time to prepare every last detail, including maternity leave, visiting relatives and care for any children at home. Being anesthetized from the very beginning means you will not feel one single contraction. And delivering your baby through a slit in your stomach means no vaginal stretching or episiotomies. On the surface it might not seem like such a bad deal. But according to ICAN, "Cesarean section is major abdominal surgery which exposes the mother to all the risks of major surgery." These risks include: a higher maternal mortality rate, infection, hemorrhage, complications of anesthesia, damage to internal organs, scar tissue, increased incidence of secondary infertility, longer recovery periods, increase in clinical postpartum depression, and complications in maternal-infant bonding and breastfeeding as well as risks to the infant of respiratory distress, prematurity and injuries from the surgery.
Brette Sember of Clarence, N.Y., decided to have her second child by Cesarean. Her first weighed more than 11 pounds, and that delivery ended in a surgical birth. "I did not want to go through an induction only to end up with a section again, so I went straight for the section," she says. Her son was born with fluid in the lungs, a common condition for Cesarean babies, and required some time in an oxygen tent. Sember experienced some negatives of her own: "I have adhesions from my surgeries," she says. "After the second surgery, my incision came partially unstapled, and they had to re-staple it – NOT a fun experience." She feels that all of those things combined make elective Cesareans a risky decision.
Want to see more?
Comments
Found 1 comment
Displaying all 1 comments below
|
Post As:
|
||
| Enter your comment below: | ||
| Title | ||
| Comment Text | ||
| CAPTCHA | ||
| Please note that any comments submitted become the property of Disney Family / iParenting and can be edited and posted at our discrection. | ||
Re: The Right to Choose by anonymous on 10/18/2008 10:16PM
Why should people be opposing cesarians. It's nobody's business to decided how a woman gives birth except for the woman herself. If she choses to have an elective cesarian and she is aware of the risks then why should people be opposing it?