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VBAC
kyoung5829
member
Please tell me I am over reacting
kyoung5829
member
in VBAC
So I saw this article in my FB feed from an Active Mom's Club page.
(sorry if this is not clicky)
Is it just me, or does this woman come off as an arrogant ill-informed idjit?
Two quotes in particular bother me:
"For the five percent where c-sections are actually life saving, many women do not realize the long term effects of having a c-section."
and
"While many are just fine with not pushing their babies out, having a c-section has its own set of problems, especially later in a women's life."
The first one seems like an awfully made up percentage to me. I am having a hard time finding a number online, but that seems ridiculously low. Besides that, I *think* I know the long term effects. But thanks.
The other quote just gets on my nerves because a c-section was never something I "choose" because I did not want to push my baby out. As if being sliced open (all the pain that goes with that), not remembering the first few hours of my daughters life, having issues breastfeeding and being on the verge of PPD for weeks was something chosen.
Grrr - ok, now I feel better after venting.
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Re: Please tell me I am over reacting
I can't comment on the percentage of csections that are actually life saving and I have no idea if 5 percent is accurate, but I'd guess it's not far off. The thing is, how is anyone supposed to know that? You can't know if someone who had a c/s for failure to progress or for a breech baby would've died without the surgery. It's anyone's guess. And as far as the part about knowing the long term risks, again, I think she's talking specifically about the issues that scar tissue buildup can cause. And if I'm being honest, I don't think a lot of women know about many of the long term risks associated with c sections; for example, I had no clue what Placenta Accreta was before I got pregnant again.
On to the second comment. Lots of women are okay with not pushing their babies out. That's cool. Some people have elective c sections. Some people have unplanned c sections and are totally fine with the outcome. I, personally, was not fine with it. But I don't think she's criticizing women who have unplanned c sections, whether they're okay with the outcome or not, I think she's criticizing those who have elective c sections for no medical reason.
The writer isn't a doctor and is obviously pro vaginal birth. But again, I think she's referring to a very specific set of risks, not criticizing all c/s moms.
I'll go out on a limb and assume that you've had a little trouble coping with your c/s? How long ago was it? Are you pregnant again and hoping for a VBAC? Just curious. I had a hard time with my c/s and found a lot of comfort in the ICAN web site and in getting myself properly educated and prepared for this birth. :]
Thanks for replying, I often overreact to c-section discussions. (something I am trying to work on)
As you mentioned, yes, I am still bitter about my section.
I had one with my DD almost 3 years ago. I am also due in June with #2 and extremely hopeful for a VBAC (although my Dr. wants to schedule a section for a week after my due date).
I just found my local ICAN group and am planning on going to the next meeting. So far they seem like they will be a great resource.
I wish that I would have changed practices as soon as I found out I was pregnant, but now the midwife practice is full for June babies. le sigh.
Thanks again for bringing me back down to Earth.
We're kind of in the same boat! I had my section 2 years ago and am also due in June with my second. Do you ever post on the June moms board? Great group of ladies there.
Glad you found your ICAN group! I am also still with my previous OB, but I do trust him, and for additional support I have hired a doula and hope to labor at home for a while this time. Lots of luck to you! :]
I took the tone of the article to be fairly accurate in assessing the NORM of feeling about cesarean - that many women DON'T care that their babies weren't pushed out. Does that mean I didn't care or that you don't care? Not at all. Maybe if more women cared, there would be more VBACs and more support for VBACs and fewer elective RCS because more women would be speaking out.
I can't speak to her specific 5% given, but I have known through the years that many c/s aren't true emergencies, where life is in danger, otherwise 95% of incisions today would be vertical across the abdomen to get the baby out STAT. Beyond that, there are many necessary but non-emergent c/s, and then of course we have unnecessary c/s. Again, I don't know the actual %, but I'd guess it's not too far off from life saving surgeries, and the kind she's classifying, I believe, are the "baby is going to die in 10 minutes if we don't her out" type of life saving surgery.
I think it's good she wrote about this - providers downplay the seriousness of surgery and possible life long implications, and many women don't seek out the information and could use a more sober look at a sometimes glorified way for a baby to be born.
I didn't read the responses, is it possible you are stilling with some trauma and mourning from your c/s? Things like this really rubbed me poorly and I felt judged as I went through the process of grieving what I felt myself and my baby lost in having a c/s. Now, I have come full circle and accept that it happened, that I didn't push him out, and I am less reactive to things surrounding c/s.
ETA: saw the other responses, glad you are working through everything! I think you will find support through ICAN. It helped me immensely, and I had a VBAC almost two years ago and am planning my 2nd VBAC this fall.
I'm not a fan of how those sentences are worded either. If I recall correctly, the WHO says the c/s rate should be around 15%. Iris can correct me if I'm wrong but I feel like that's a more realistic number than 5%.
But yeah, this line..."While many are just fine with not pushing their babies out, having a c-section has its own set of problems, especially later in a women's life." had me going
I think it's just poor writing.
Oh and I think it's impossible to know what percentage of c/s's are life saving? Not all c/s's are life saving. Some are done to prevent harm, like a birth injury. Plus, if someone doesn't die, how do you "know" the c/s did or didn't save a life?
That's why the WHO recommendation I mentioned above was an "optimal" c/s rate. That's a much better term to use. That's why I think it's just sloppy writing.
I think the author is referring to WHO's recommendation that about 5% of births be via c-section, but the way she's worded it, it sounds like she's saying only 5% of c-sections are necessary and that's not quite fair. If a third of american births are via c-section and the ideal number is closer to 5, then you have 10% of c-section as presumably medically necessary.
But I think that still assumes a lot and there's not consensus on the perfect % - I think you get generally positive returns to maternal and fetal health with at least 5% and start to get negative returns once the rate exceeds 15%, so even with a largely unhealthy population like the American one, we should be closer to 15%, so about half of our current rate. IMO, if we stop inducing simply because the mother is a couple days passed 40 weeks, that would greatly reduce the number of otherwise unnecessary c-sections, and of course, more VBACs
So true! My daughter was born with lesions in her legs from the way the cord was woven between her legs and tugging at her as she tried to descend. We have no way of knowing whether she would have eventually made it out alive, but we can be fairly certain her legs would have been seriously injured without the c-section. I think about that a lot when I see her running around the house now and I'm so grateful.
Yeah, I really need to work on getting over it. You would think after almost 3 years I would have reconciled my feelings... instead I usually take the 12 year old approach and just say that it is not fair, poor me. *i roll my eyes at myself here*
I mostly lurk on the June board, but I will put my two cents in when people ask about recommendations. Maybe I need to post more. You gals are a great group.
Thanks again - lots of luck to you as well on the VBAC!
You hit the nail on the head. I need to get there, probably the sooner the better so that I can be more relaxed with this birth.
Glad to hear that you had a successful VBAC, it certainly helps hearing success stories. Best of luck with #3 this fall! Thanks for your grounding.
Yeah, I think I was being too sensitive... but I also agree that maybe she could have worded that differently.
Slow clap.
You bet. You can do it! Do you read VBAC birth stories? I think that was probably the most significant for me to be encouraged and mentally confident that I could do it. Reading allllllll the variations in those VBAC stories helped a lot. There are a bunch here in the VBAC category. https://birthwithoutfearblog.com/
I don't think it's ridiculous for those feelings to still be with you. I had an emergency c/s with HELLP syndrome with my first. It was a pretty traumatic entrance into motherhood. My VBAC really healed a lot of wounds but I also saw a therapist prior to getting pregnant. I felt like I had failed my baby because I couldn't even let him come when he was ready and I couldn't even take care of him when he was born. The first 24 hours of his life I was confined to a bed and too sick to care for him, let alone breastfeed. And breastfeeding was such a nightmare. I was able to finally get it to work but it was so difficult. When I was hoping for my vbac, I had a lot of anxiety and towards the end suffered from a lot of self doubt. I had to advocate for myself with my OB's who were pushing a c/s for a big baby. I spent a bit of time feeling sorry for myself and wondering why everything had to be so hard.
Anyway, all of this is to say that I know how you feel. All of us know how you feel. I hope you are able to have your vbac. If you haven't, at some point you may want to consider therapy. My doula thought it was helpful for my vbac that I had already dealt with all the emotional baggage that I had from my first birth.
I did not care for the tone of the article. Plus, like pp said, I think her statistics ae incorrect.
And my csection was because dd was breech. I have gotten a lot of crap from people about how I could have delivered her vaginally. That hurts. She was less than 6 pounds, so not good for vaginal breech birth Or how I took the easy wy out. I didn't break a sweat with my vbac.
The WHO optimal c/s stat gets thrown around a lot in birth discussions. It originally said 10-15% is the optimal rate. But the WHO actually withdrew this recommendation a few years ago because it was not evidence-based. They now say the optimum rate is unknown.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10448034