the words I have to say may well be simple but they're true

[primroseburrows]

This is so very wrong on so many levels.

*repeated headdesk*

Comments

[franzeska]

*scratches head* But why would you want a surgery your medical professional assures you you don't need? This confuses me.

[secanth.livejournal.com]

Wandering in from Falconcat's page...(grin). Having been through two surgeries so far in my life, I'd say their estimate of a 'four day' recovery time from a C-section is just a trifle understated. And I can't imagine *wanting* to have a surgery I didn't *have* to have.

[primroseburrows.livejournal.com]

The thing that bothers me most is that a doc would actually go along with it. We're not talking piercing or tattoos here. A C-section is major surgery, and the care that needs to be taken after is the same as someone who has a hysterectomry or any other major surgery. This woman says she wants "control". To me, this is the ultimate LOSS of control over her body.

[primroseburrows.livejournal.com]

It's more like a four-day hospital stay. When you go home, you're not "recovered", you're just not medically compromised enough to stay in the hospital. Recovery from major abdominal surgery, I believe, takes weeks.

[songdog.livejournal.com]

This woman is seeking control. Her choice only gets her control over *when* and *how*. And it puts her completely out of control when it matters most.

When it comes to issues surrounding birthing choices, and recognizing the traditional medical establishment's views, it seems to me that control can only remotely be possible when you are as informed, and as proactive as possible. Otherwise, there are plenty of others willing to make all your choices for you.

My question is: has it gotten any better over the past couple of decades? When I had my kids, I had to actively seek out a doctor who *wouldn't tie my hands down(!)*, during labor, and was willing to not do a routine episiotomy. I was lucky enough by my second pregnancy to find a doctor who would not only listen to what I wanted, but believed that giving birth was natural, healthy, and was best done at home with the support of a midwife and your family. But I'm not hearing any good news about how things are for expectant moms these days. It doesn't seem any better than it was 20 years ago.

[primroseburrows.livejournal.com]

It hasn't gotten much better. And C-sections are more available than ever.

Midwives need to handle normal, stable births. Fewer births need to be in hospital. Ultrasounds need to be used only when it's medically necessary (like there's actually a question of a problem and not "gee, I wonder if it's a girl or a boy?").

And for the gods' sake, America, stop cutting off parts of baby boys.

[nmalfoy.livejournal.com]

I'd say I was fairly functional at two weeks, more functional at four, and fully functional at six weeks. I still got tired if I overdid it until about twelve weeks post-op.

[primroseburrows.livejournal.com]

Y'know, I blame the docs who allow this "maternal selection" C-section to go on as much, if not more than the silly women who ask for it. It's malpractice to perform a procedure that's unnecessary, right?

[nmalfoy.livejournal.com]

In nearly every case of a breech birth, the doctor chooses to do a C-section. Why? Liability. If someone's baby isn't born in perfect shape, they sue the doctor. So anything in childbirth that could pose the slightest risk, the doctors err on the more conservative side (ex. doing a C-section). Blame the litigious society out there, you know?

I don't know if an unnecessary procedure is malpractice, per se, since plastic surgery isn't treated as such, but I agree that women should be more informed as to their birth options.

[primroseburrows.livejournal.com]

In nearly every case of a breech birth, the doctor chooses to do a C-section. Why? Liability. If someone's baby isn't born in perfect shape, they sue the doctor.

Yep. Because of this, the skill of facilitating a vaginal breech birht is dying among obstetricians.

Y'know who can do it? Midwives. Nurse-midwives who work in hospitals often don't do it, because of hospital rules and their own fears of liabilty. Homebirth midwives can, and do, catch breech babies. Not always, but the art is still a living one among them.

I was part of a wonderful midwifery intensive course years ago, and the midwife who taught us was adamant about not allowing the knowledge and practice vaginal breech birth die out.