Skyrocketing Cesarean Section Rates
When the term “labor” is mentioned in relation to childbirth, most women cringe. They are fearful of the pain associated with having a baby. They plan their inductions with their doctors and even before they attempt labor, they have agreed to an epidural. What these mothers don’t know is that these types of interventions are unnecessary and often times lead to cesarean section. The growing rate of cesarean section births is alarming in the United States. Obstetrician’s patience with the natural labor process is becoming worn thin. When these doctors give interventions that do not work as fast as they would like, they rush the mother into the operating room to be cut open. In the United States, the cesarean section rate is 32.8%, as of 2011. The World Health Organization recommends the optimal cesarean surgery rate to be between 10% and 15%. If mothers become more informed about birth and obstetricians begin trusting women’s bodies, there will be a drop in the national cesarean rate.
With this growing rate of surgery, there is an increased risk for both mother and baby. As with any surgery, cesarean poses a risk of death. The "Childbirth.org" (1995-1998) website shows, the risk of maternal death is less than one in 2,500 births. After a vaginal delivery, the risk of maternal death is less than one in 10,000 births. Other risk factors for the mother include infection, not only with the wound but also in the uterus or nearby organs such as the kidneys or bladder. Increased blood loss is another factor; it is almost double that of a vaginal birth. The mother could react poorly to the anesthesia and could have a sudden drop in blood pressure. Usually, there is a longer hospital stay and a more painful and longer recovery, and if the mother wants to have more children, there can be higher risk for complications in subsequent pregnancies.
Risk factors for babies stemming from a cesarean are premature birth, respiratory problems, and low AGPAR scores. Obstetricians try to calculate the baby’s due date, but their methods of determining age are not always accurate. The American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology recommends the performance of cesarean sections not be done before 39 weeks gestation. If the obstetrician is wrong about his or her calculations of an estimated due date, the baby could be born too soon. When the mother delivers the baby vaginally, it travels through the birth canal, which compresses its lungs, and assists with the expulsion of fluids from the lungs. In a cesarean surgery, the baby does not have that opportunity. When there is an instance of underdeveloped lungs, expulsion of fluids becomes very difficult; there is a high chance the baby will spend time in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.
There are different reasons that a low-risk, healthy mother finds herself in the operating room to deliver her baby. According to "Childbirth.org" (1995-1998) “Up to 77% of women for whom the indication for cesarean delivery was a non-progressive labor (sometimes diagnosed as cephalopelvic disproportion or CPD) and who tried labor again, had a VBAC for a subsequent birth. Approximately one-third of these women gave birth to babies that were larger than their previous "CPD" baby” (Cesarean Fact Sheet). Obstetricians wish to have total control over a woman’s laboring body. When a woman arrives at a hospital while in labor, she is put on a time clock. If she does not make enough progress in a short amount of time, the doctor will prescribe many different options for induction. What mothers do not know is that they can refuse these induction options. They can even go home if they are not very far into active labor. A French study group determined that not following correct induction guidelines will lead to cesarean section. “Cervical ripeness was the most important of the consensus conference criteria. Starting induction without a medical reason and with an
