Must Have Cesarean Births
In the UK, one in four babies are born via cesarean; the US it is even higher, one in three.
Yet the World Health Organisation (WHO) says that no country should have a cesarean birth rate higher than 15%.
Obviously then there are unnecessary cesareans, few doctors would even argue that point.
But what about your cesarean birth? cesareans are life saving surgical deliveries; either the life of the baby, the mother or both.
But with the obvious discrepancy between the number of cesareans performed in Western countries and the number recognised by WHO as necessary, the question often comes to a personal level: was my cesarean really necessary.
The honest answer is few of us will ever know with 100% certainty.
So how then do we come to terms personally with our cesarean birth? There are a few medical conditions for which you can have 100% confidence that your cesarean birth was an absolute life-saving measure for you and/or your baby.
These rare conditions include: Transverse presentation: These means that your baby is lying on its side rather than being bottom or head down.
Simply by visualising this position, it is apparent that there is no way your baby can be born vaginally.
The only asteric with this is that it is possible that your baby may move before or during labour.
It is sometimes possible for the doctor to move your baby from the outside using a procedure called external cephalic version.
You should discuss this with your doctor, but it should only be attempted by an experienced physician or midwife until careful conditions (usually using ultrasound in a hospital)...
and not all babies can or will be moved.
Placenta previa: This means that the placenta, which nourish your baby and is usually attached near the top of the uterus, is actually attached and covering the cervix.
This means that if labour were to begin naturally and the cervix were to dilate then the placenta would become partially or completely detached depriving the baby of oxygen.
The important thing to discuss with your doctor is the degree to which the placenta covers the cervix.
A complete previa is an absolute indicator for a cesarean birth, but on occasion a partial previa or even a low lying placenta (where the placenta covers a portion of the cervix or lies very low close to it) may also worry your doctor.
In these situations, you should discuss your options with the doctor and work towards a solution you are both happy with.
True cephalopelvic disproportion (CPD): This is a condition in the mother that means you will never be able to deliver a baby vaginally.
But this is extremely rare and is usually the result of a birth defect or illness such as rickets that deformed your pelvis.
Prolapsed cord in the first stage of labour: This is where your bag of waters break and the baby's umbilical cord slips past its head or bottom into the vagina.
If you are not yet fully dilated, this is a dangerous situation where your baby can become deprived of oxygen and should be delivered immediately.
Your team of doctors will act quickly to save your baby's life.
If you or your baby experienced one of these conditions, then rest assured that your doctors did the only thing they could to save your lives.
We are lucky to live in a time and a place where modern medicine saves lives that would be lost otherwise.
Realise too though that there are many other conditions that are less severe, but in which cesarean birth might still be the safest option for either mother or baby or both.
Yet the World Health Organisation (WHO) says that no country should have a cesarean birth rate higher than 15%.
Obviously then there are unnecessary cesareans, few doctors would even argue that point.
But what about your cesarean birth? cesareans are life saving surgical deliveries; either the life of the baby, the mother or both.
But with the obvious discrepancy between the number of cesareans performed in Western countries and the number recognised by WHO as necessary, the question often comes to a personal level: was my cesarean really necessary.
The honest answer is few of us will ever know with 100% certainty.
So how then do we come to terms personally with our cesarean birth? There are a few medical conditions for which you can have 100% confidence that your cesarean birth was an absolute life-saving measure for you and/or your baby.
These rare conditions include: Transverse presentation: These means that your baby is lying on its side rather than being bottom or head down.
Simply by visualising this position, it is apparent that there is no way your baby can be born vaginally.
The only asteric with this is that it is possible that your baby may move before or during labour.
It is sometimes possible for the doctor to move your baby from the outside using a procedure called external cephalic version.
You should discuss this with your doctor, but it should only be attempted by an experienced physician or midwife until careful conditions (usually using ultrasound in a hospital)...
and not all babies can or will be moved.
Placenta previa: This means that the placenta, which nourish your baby and is usually attached near the top of the uterus, is actually attached and covering the cervix.
This means that if labour were to begin naturally and the cervix were to dilate then the placenta would become partially or completely detached depriving the baby of oxygen.
The important thing to discuss with your doctor is the degree to which the placenta covers the cervix.
A complete previa is an absolute indicator for a cesarean birth, but on occasion a partial previa or even a low lying placenta (where the placenta covers a portion of the cervix or lies very low close to it) may also worry your doctor.
In these situations, you should discuss your options with the doctor and work towards a solution you are both happy with.
True cephalopelvic disproportion (CPD): This is a condition in the mother that means you will never be able to deliver a baby vaginally.
But this is extremely rare and is usually the result of a birth defect or illness such as rickets that deformed your pelvis.
Prolapsed cord in the first stage of labour: This is where your bag of waters break and the baby's umbilical cord slips past its head or bottom into the vagina.
If you are not yet fully dilated, this is a dangerous situation where your baby can become deprived of oxygen and should be delivered immediately.
Your team of doctors will act quickly to save your baby's life.
If you or your baby experienced one of these conditions, then rest assured that your doctors did the only thing they could to save your lives.
We are lucky to live in a time and a place where modern medicine saves lives that would be lost otherwise.
Realise too though that there are many other conditions that are less severe, but in which cesarean birth might still be the safest option for either mother or baby or both.