C-Section craze!!!

I was going to write "my story" about my birth experiences since our blog is still new and we're trying to give some background but I've had something else on my mind and today was THE LAST STRAW! Yet another friend's doctor has given her the option of having a C-section for no particular reason. Perfectly normal, healthy pregnancy-sure, she's never gone overdue before and now she's two days over and the baby isn't fully engaged in the pelvis yet, blah blah blah. So, doesn't this mean that the baby isn't ready to come out yet? If you ask that question you get, "well, maybe, but you don't want the baby to get too big". Oh, so that's the real reason-which, again, is basically a fallacy. Why aren't women thinking this through? Why do we let medical professionals give us advice about our births based on our fears? Since when has it ever done us any good to listen to people who nurture our fears?

The rate of unnecessary C-sections has increased over the last couple of years to an astounding degree and this new "trend" is becoming very popular all over the country. Medical professionals attend conventions where this topic is discussed and have come to a general agreement that it's more than just normal to suggest a C-section to any woman (without going into all that detail about the disadvantages and risks of course)-it's widely preferred! They contend that women are now given another choice in childbirth that previously was restricted to those with actual complications-that we should be in complete control and have all options open to us-sounds great, right? Do I really have to say...beware of things that sound too good to be true?

Over the years, we've let the "induction trend" slowly creep into our culture until now it's considered normal and also very much over-used, ill-timed, and presenting a whole new set of risks to the mother and baby that need to be dealt with. But now we've regressed to just skipping over that and going straight to the C-section! I mean, what is this-1945? When our grandmothers were knocked out, induced, and the baby pulled out with forceps and not meeting its mother until she woke up? Sure, this new way sounds more sophisticated and women are told that they're getting the "best of both worlds" and, most important, the doctor is happy-oops! Did I say that? Ladies, we're all smarter than this and most importantly, WE KNOW BETTER. Just listen to your womanly instincts for a moment and then tell me what you think is right.

Patronizing

I have to say that I can't stand it when a doctor tells a pregnant woman who wants to have natural childbirth that she can do that "as long as everything goes well." That is so patronizing to me! It's like saying "you do whatever you want to do to make yourself feel better, little mother, I'll be over here doing all the important work with the baby because that's all the really matters." How many women who want to do natural childbirth would be so irresponsible to do natural childbirth under any circumstances! Of course we know that if something goes horribly wrong, natural is not an option. To have to say that is just insulting our intelligence. It makes it seem like the doctor is in charge and doing all the work and the mother's presence is inconsequential. All the effort the mother is putting into labor is not important, just the end result of a healthy baby. I know that doctor's are just trying to cover their rear but I believe that is only because they don't have enough faith in the birthing experience. And there is a small number of women out there who are crazy enough to have a natural childbirth under any circumstance but we should not all be talked to like we are in that small percentage. We need to find the healthcare providers out there who will give us the trust and respect we deserve and recognize that the mother is the one in charge!