Valerie Schultz: Childbirth is not a disease or scheduling conflict, so stop the C-sections
| Friday, Feb 06 2009 02:15 PM
Last Updated Friday, Mar 27 2009 01:27 PM
“I am woman, hear me roar …”
— “I Am Woman” by Helen Reddy & Ray Burton
The recent news about complications for both mother and child arising from births by cesarean section is so distressing to a natural childbirth advocate like me that I am left breathless. I hardly know where to start my tirade. It is one that people who know me have heard many times before and are probably weary of its vehemence. But to begin again: childbirth is not a disease.
Our magnificent female bodies are designed to give birth. Physically, it is our mission. Once our menstrual cycles kick in when we are young women, our bodies yearn to be pregnant, even if our minds do not. Our reproductive systems, like the workings of a clock, are precise and predictable. Each month’s pattern of ovulation is a glorious tribute to the intricate blueprint for procreation.
While I know that most women are not in the mood to sing praises to the Creator during their periods, I nevertheless believe that the more we learn about how our bodies work, the more we respect, and are even awed by, their efficiency and power. My point is that, left to their own devices, our bodies know exactly what to do.
The proof of the flawless inner workings of women is exhibited in childbirth. After growing a fetus for precisely the right amount of time, our bodies begin the process of propelling the baby toward the beginning of independent life. Every pregnancy is different, of course, but the average time needed in the womb is pretty constant: about 40 weeks. But we seem to think we can mess with the system.
A study published recently in The New England Journal of Medicine found that babies whose mothers elected to have C-sections performed in the 37th or 38th week of pregnancy experienced up to four times the risk of complications compared to those born after the 39th week. We needed a study to tell us this?
Seriously?
Our bodies know what they are doing, but we must trust them. The onset of labor is the body’s signal that the baby is ready to be born. It is unwise to opt for a baby’s birthday on an artificially selected date on a calendar because it suits a cranky doctor or a busy mom. The women in the study actually scheduled their procedures to avoid going into labor, as though the last few weeks of pregnancy are somehow gratuitous or arbitrary. The researchers discovered that a baby “from his mother’s womb/untimely ripp’d,” in the immortal words of Shakespeare, suffers four times the risk of respiratory distress, three times the risk of hypoglycemia, and twice the risk of spending some time in the neonatal intensive care unit. Clearly, slicing a few weeks off one’s due date is a bad idea.
Coming on the heels of this study is another, from government researchers, revealing a rise in severe complications, such as pulmonary embolisms, kidney failure, respiratory distress, shock and the need for a ventilator, in mothers undergoing C-sections. And more mothers than ever are having C-sections. The most recent statistics available, from 2006, show that 31.1 percent of all U.S. births — more than a million — are by C-section, making the C-section the nation’s most common surgery. This rate is 50 percent higher than in 1998. This is an unnecessary epidemic.
I do not mean to imply that a woman who does not give birth vaginally is a failure. I am a mother who understands that a C-section is sometimes unavoidable: My first daughter was trapped by the umbilical cord around her neck and might have died or suffered brain damage without emergency intervention. She was born by C-section after 27 hours of fruitless labor and, thankfully, suffered no lasting injury.
But my next three children were born the natural way, with no complications. Nothing about their imminent births indicated any need for surgery. I was fortunate to find a doctor who specialized in VBACs, or vaginal birth after cesarean. In today’s medical and legal climate, however, I would not even be offered the chance to give birth vaginally after having a C-section. I would instead undergo major surgery three more times, for absolutely no good reason. A C-section increases medical risk, cost and recovery time, which are good reasons not to submit to surgery that is avoidable.
We have managed, with the overuse of technology and litigation, to turn childbirth into an illness that requires treatment and medication, rather than a natural process that requires little more than patience. We have sacrificed a timeless rite of passage for the sake of convenience. Worst of all, women are losing the sense that their bodies can be trusted to function correctly. Pregnancy, rather than a time of wonder and growth and reflection, has become fraught with worry and tests and procedures. It is a hazard to get through rather than a blessing to revel in.
I am sad to think of the women of my daughters’ generation not experiencing the raw power and immense beauty of unmedicated birth. I can only hope that the pendulum will again swing back to the side of increased awareness of and appreciation for natural childbirth, and we will rediscover the wisdom of the ages. How else will the women of the future hear themselves roar?
These are Valerie Schultz’s opinions, and not necessarily those of The Californian.
