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Doctors warn of alarming C-section 'epidemic'

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Re: Doctors warn of alarming C-section 'epidemic'

#81

Post by noisy_boy »

lanius wrote: post #66

I'm surprised C-section rates are higher among wealthier, education women. I would assume educated women are more likely to understand the risks associated with C-sections.

Just because they are wealthier or educated, doesn't mean they will make the most scientific decision; otherwise no doctor would ever smoke. Background/nurturing/societal norms also play a role. I have heard multiple well-off/educated women say, "no way I would put myself through so much pain when I can have quick c-section". Note that I'm not passing any judgement as it is their body and they are the one who will experience the pain so it is their decision.

Re: Doctors warn of alarming C-section 'epidemic'

#82

Post by wild_preference »

epmaybe wrote: post #67

Interesting article. I also thought that encouraging cesarean sections was something obstetricians did often to avoid the time spent waiting for delivery. However, in my training I witnessed quite the opposite. My resident and attending physicians were very cautious with going forward with cesarean sections, and would do whatever they could to continue with vaginal delivery when the mother wanted that, and also encou…

Your initial suspicion is alive here in Mexico where you need to rent your own obstetrician and install them at a private clinic facility while you wait for baby.

Re: Doctors warn of alarming C-section 'epidemic'

#83

Post by empath75 »

grecy wrote: post #7

My sister-in-law just had her first baby, and got very into all of these statistics and the "medical industrial complex take on childbirth" I believe the WHO recommends around 10-15% of births should be C-Section in a healthy population, but the figures in first world countries are at least 3-5 times that. There are about 3 million stories of ladies "booking in" their birth a month or three in advance. I.e. I want my…

My wife had a natural child birth with just a shot of pitossin at the end for the afterbirth. At a hospital. No medication at all other than that, not so much as a Tylenol.

Re: Doctors warn of alarming C-section 'epidemic'

#84

Post by ineedasername »

tptacek wrote: post #80
rayiner wrote: post #64

Relevant counterpoint: http://www.skepticalob.com/2018/03/what-if-c-sections-are-be... . The article doesn’t actually say why C sections are bad, it presupposes that fact, and assumes that rising C section rates must indicate some sort of “epidemic.”

Caesarians are way more dangerous than vaginal births. A C-section patient can die of pulmonary embolism from the blood clots from the procedure, directly from bleeding (the surgeon can nick an artery or the incision can lacerate during the actual birth), the wound can get infected (it's quite a large wound), and, of course, it's major surgery, so the anaesthesia can kill you (even if you're not all the way under; my…

You would think this is true, but the mortality rate for c-sections tends to be higher because they are often performed in the presence of other extreme complications that contribute to the higher mortality rate. The mortality rate for non-complication (elective) ceasarian is actually lower.

The Birth Trauma Association found that mortality rates are lowest for women who have elective caesareans. [0]

https://amp.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/jan/21/how-ris...

Re: Doctors warn of alarming C-section 'epidemic'

#85

Post by v_lisivka »

grecy wrote: post #7

My sister-in-law just had her first baby, and got very into all of these statistics and the "medical industrial complex take on childbirth" I believe the WHO recommends around 10-15% of births should be C-Section in a healthy population, but the figures in first world countries are at least 3-5 times that. There are about 3 million stories of ladies "booking in" their birth a month or three in advance. I.e. I want my…

Instead of death of baby and mother, babies growth into mothers, with genetic incline toward same problem, so you need to add another 10-15% to account for that.

Re: Doctors warn of alarming C-section 'epidemic'

#86

Post by gcb0 »

danw1979 wrote: post #30

Women feel enormous pressure (at least here in the UK) to give birth naturally, from both their peers and health professionals. How a baby is delivered is none of anyone's business but the mother herself. My wife (an epidemiologist) deliberated for months over having our second by VBAC (vaginal birth after csection) and opted to go for it, due to the overwhelming expectation from everyone around her that she should d…

contributing to your social critic on everyone having an opinion; why not see the first c-section as the root of the problem?

Re: Doctors warn of alarming C-section 'epidemic'

#87

Post by v_lisivka »

lanius wrote: post #66

I'm surprised C-section rates are higher among wealthier, education women. I would assume educated women are more likely to understand the risks associated with C-sections.

Heads of their babies are larger, while vagina is same, so higher risk to rip vagina and die, so higher C-section rate.

Re: Doctors warn of alarming C-section 'epidemic'

#89

Post by tth3uoku »

snapit wrote: post #9

My opinion based on living with a midwife for most of my life. Not fair to blame the women for this The reason is more to do with the doctors or medical staff being cautious about complications from a normal birth than caused by the preference of a women for chosing a c section.

Decisio Health has created real time dashboards that identify sepsis early so that care teams can start treatment protocols and monitor what has been done when a new shift comes on.

It seems like something like that would be helpful for birthing. Midwives and doctors rely on their knowledge of past births and patients' health to make decisions during the birth. There's room for bias and error.

If they could have access to more data about similar patients and outcomes as well as real time information about the patient, maybe the software could predict or confirm a decision about which high risk patients were going to need to be transferred to a hospital earlier into a birth. Hopefully it would prevent unnecessary cesareans for women they can confirm are progressing fine.

Re: Doctors warn of alarming C-section 'epidemic'

#90

Post by v_lisivka »

DoreenMichele wrote: post #42
marmaduke wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is an epidural assumed in all this discussion? The mothers I know who didn’t have the epidural didn’t have these nightmare symptoms, while those who did or had a C section were worse off. (I’m assuming competent medical staff and follow up, but I realize that’s a difficult one in the US and elsewhere)

I have had two vaginal deliveries. They both involved an episiotomy. I have never had an epidural. Both deliveries were completely drug free. Episiotomy: A surgical cut to the vaginal tissue to prevent tearing. Epidural: Spinal pain block. Totally unrelated procedures.

What you think about artificial womb? Would you prefer to make forced birth one month earlier, when baby is small, and then raise it in artificial womb for month or two?

https://gizmodo.com/for-the-second-time-researchers-have-use...

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