Maternal Mortality Increase with Rise in Cesarean Rate
Friday September 1, 2006
A recent study that shows the rate of death from cesareans is triple that of women who give birth vaginally. What this new study really shows is that the deaths were not from pre-existing conditions. In fact , these deaths, mostly from infection, blood clots and complications with their anesthesia. These deaths occurred no matter when the cesarean was performed - before or after labor had begun. While the maternal death rate in the US is still relatively low, about 1 in 3,500, this study shows that as the number of cesarean births increase, many that are elective or not medically necessary, we will see an increase in the number of maternal deaths.
As the cesarean rate rises you may wonder what control you have over how you give birth. While not all cesareans can be avoided, many can. You do have the ability to influence whether or not you give birth vaginally or by cesarean. So what can you do when you want to avoid surgery?
Related: Denied VBAC? | Cesarean Birth Quiz | Cesarean Photos
Comments
My mom’s friend died after she gave birth actually. She was cesareaned because she can’t have a normal delivery. After a feel weeks she died. We thought that she died because of infections or perhaps blod clots from her operation. But no, she actually died because a pair of scissors were discovered inside her stomach . I think it was left there during her operation. So it was more on a medical malpractice rather than infection from her cesarean.
I developed a massive abcess under my c-section insicion and have been on antibiotics for 3 weeks. It had to be re-opened, drained and packed and it still is red and hot to the touch. I am scared of losing my fertility/uterus or of getting worse. This was a c-section after an attempted trial of vbac. My first child was an emergency section due to eclampsia. This time my water broke and I had 17 hours of labor with progress to only 1 cm and the doctor pushed me to a c-section. This doctor was hell-bent on sectioning me ever since she saw me in the office 3 days prior to my water breaking and said it didn’t look like I’d ever go into labor on my own (cervix high, not ripe)and she wanted me to schedule a section. Then even when I did go into labor, she was a bit insistent on me getting an epidural when I was still only 1 cm dilated because the anesthesiologist was there and asking her if he could just do my epidural since he was already in the LDR area. I know it’s not a good idea prior to 3-4 cm dilation. I even said that I’ve read an epidural can intefere with the progress of labor if you’re not dilated enough. She said that was just a myth. I should have said no, but I was already in pain, tired (8 hours of labor at that point), and she told me they would start Pitocin whether I took the epidural or not and the pain would only get worse. After acccepting the epidural, the contractions got further apart despite the Pitocin and I never got into a regular pattern again. I should never have been pressured into doing something I know I didn’t want to do but sometimes the doctors get you when you’re tired and hurting and try to medicate your labor to speed things up to fit their schedules it seems. Anyway, they called me a “failure to progress” and the doctor got her wish to section me. Now I have a nasty infection. So I would say, don’t have a section on purpose because it is major surgery, it entails a painful recovery (infection or not), if you have other children it is hard to care for them (no driving for 3 weeks, no lifting anything heavier than your baby for 3 weeks, etc), and the risk of infection is higher than with a vaginal birth. Also, it is more difficult to breastfeed. Don’t have surgery on purpose.
I am going to post these comments on my blog site. Please refer your clients and respondants to www.takebackthebirth.com
Let’s start a movement, let’s TAKE BACK THE BIRTH!
Hi,
I am a subscriber to your site. I am a traditional midwife of almost 20 years. I am creating a movement: Take Back the Birth. I feel that the interventions being sold to and forced upon women during their pregnancies and births are a heinous form of violence against women and babies. I believe it is time women stood up and reclaimed their innate abilities and strength in springing forth new life. What other animal in nature runs to a stranger or member of the opposite sex and asks them how to deal with this malady? NO OTHER! I believe the crisis is becoming one of epic evolutionary proportions, we are now seeing third generation unnecessary c-SECTION deliveries. We as a culture, are loosing our innate ability to give birth to our young. We are loosing our cellular and genetic memories. Our babies are suffering.
Please refer your readers to my website: www.takebackthebirth.com
I would really like to see this information enter the current psyche. I stand to gain NO MONEY from these efforts. Healthy families is my goal.
Thanks again, Stacy Sheer, Mht.
Author of ; YOU KNEW EVERYTHING; THE DAY YOU WERE BORN
There seems to be tons of information on how the c-section rate is ridiculously high in this country, but what I would really like to see is information for women about their right to refuse a c-section, even if their doctor is insisting. What are our rights regarding this matter? When, if ever, can a doctor perform surgery on you without needing your permission first? At this point, at least from what I’ve read, it seems the only way to avoid an unecessary c-section is to give birth at home or at a birthing center, or maybe to find a doctor with a c-section rate below 15%. Of all the reading and research I’ve done, it seems like women don’t realize they can’t be made to undergo procedures just because a doctor wants to do them. Is this true? What are our rights as women and patients???