Do any pregnant women have their babies delivered the old fashioned way anymore? It doesn't seem so.My friend Jill's due date for her second child was yesterday. At her appointment last Wednesday her doctor wanted to know if she wanted to be induced for labor on Friday morning, 8 am. "Why not?" Jill asked herself.
There was no reason for Jill to be induced. Her baby wasn't overweight and she was perfectly healthy. It was merely a scheduling issue for the doctor. Instead of being called in at 2 am on the weekend, Jill's doctor can plan on delivering her baby sometime during normal working hours during the week.
It just doesn't seem right to me. I'm not saying that I don't believe in inducing labor ever, I just think there should be a really good reason...like the health of the mom or baby, or a husband home on leave from the military. I don't think that it's right to force labor just so the doctor can rest easy over the weekend.
I found this article in The Charleston Gazette about a woman who was determined to have a natural, old fashioned delivery for her fourth child.
When Trebor Sutler delivered Mason, the first of her and husband Rob's four children, her doctor recommended inducing labor at 37 weeks because her amniotic fluid had dropped. After a pitosin-induced labor, the baby showed signs of distress and was delivered via Caesarean section.I think this mommy is right. You should have a birth plan and your doctors should do everything they can to honor your plan despite inconvenience to them.
"I was scared to death. The baby wasn't ready to be delivered," the Charleston woman said. "Basically, I think they induced me to get it done and that's just too common. West Virginia has the fifth-highest rate of C-section deliveries in the nation."
"I think there's a misconception out there that C-sections are easier for the mothers. I think they're easier on the doctors who often perform them out of convenience," Trebor said. "If the mother's body and the baby aren't ready, it's harder on both of them."
What do you think?
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6 comments:
hmmm... birth plan. i think you should be careful with that term. when having a natural birth, there's really nothing 'planned' about it. i felt like my birthing class really pushed the parents to write out the 'plan' step by step, but, if you are really going to have this baby when you and 'it' are ready... you can't plan that. i learned this from my wonderful mid-wife. she didn't encourage me to write down a plan for my birth b/c she told me things don't often go according to plan, and if you write it all out that can lead to dissapointment. we did talk about some things my husband and i wanted to do and she was excellent about remembering them all- she even remembered the things we had forgotten about! i can completely relate to jill wanting to have her baby with HER doctor. the thought of having my baby dilered by a stranger was horrifying to me. one thing i did do, and we joke about it now, is tell my mid-wife the day of the week i'd be in (b/c that was the day she worked a 12 hour shift) to deliver. i even went so far as to say i'd be in late morning and done before lunch... and you know what? i went into the hospital at 8AM and ayda was born at 10:20AM. i had a fantastic lunch too :)
I guess what I mean is for the hospital and doctors to not push for unnatural methods when you, as a mother, want nature to take it's course with your pregnancy. "Birth Plan" probably isn't the right way to say it. I've never been pregnant :)
that's why i say 'careful' when you use the term... there is HUGE discussion about Birth Plans.
of course a hospital shouldn't push a mother if the pushing isn't necessary... that's a given. what i mentioned was that i understood how jill felt- saying 'yes' b/c her doctor would be in that day. after 10 months you build a huge amount of trust, or at least one would hope you do, with your doctor. a stranger between your legs is a scary thing when you're squeezing out a new life. is it right to induce when it's not life threatening? no, i don't think so. does it take away from some of the frightful uncertainty? i guess maybe. 6 of one, 1/2 dozen of another.
I think it's best to give the baby all the time it needs. That being said, I was induced with my second - but I was adamant that it not be pitosin. I was also 12 days late. The choice my mine though, not my midwife's. She did mention that she only liked going about 14 days over due dates because that is when the placenta starts to shutdown and can cause problems. It was also very relaxing to know, more or less, when the baby was coming. I scheduled the induction a week out, to give the baby time to come on her own. I don't think it's right for the doctor to induce for their convenience. In Trebor's case, I think she could have been more informed about birthing. I think (speaking in a very general sense) women are not informed enough about the birthing process, and just follow the path that a doctor has laid out before them blindly. It's important that a mother make informed choice about what is going to happen to her body, with her child's prenatal care, and her birth. Women have been having babies for thousands of years without a schedule.
Inducing labor definitely has a time and a place, as "anonymous" has pointed out, but you're right, inductions have become far to common place. Scheduled cesarians are also becoming more and more popular. This has become appealing for some women who want a scheduled birth, no risk of future incontinence, no tearing. But even that is not without its risks (babies born cesarean have a higher risk of respiratory distress). In any case, life and times have changed so much with so much emphasis on convenience. Though I support every woman to come up with their own birth plan (and you DO come up with at least a basic birth plan, knowing it's subject to change), I know I'd like my baby to cook inside just as long as she needs to, and as long as it is safe, as uncomfortable as it may be. Being pregnant makes me feel more animalistic, more organic, than anything I've ever experienced. Your body just KNOWS what to do, and it's mystifing and beautiful. I just couldn't mess with a process as elegant as this.
If induced labors lead to more cesarians, then I'm opposed. My friends who've had C-sections say the recovery is tougher than they expected, and they just want to be paying attention to their baby! I'm hoping that someday I'll be able to deliver naturally...with tons of drugs :)
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