We've spent some time looking at birth with no intervention or assistance and no complications. That means that the picture of birth I've shown you up until this point is without the assistance of medical devices, medications, surgery, etc. This class will cover intervention commonly used in labor and birth, complications, medications and much more.
There are times when things do not go as nature intended and complications arise. This is to say that either mom or baby is having a problem with the or labor/birth. At that point intervention, be it a medication, a procedure, or surgery, might be employed to make pregnancy/birth easier, less complicated or safer for both mom and baby.
While no one really plans on needing intervention or having complications, their are times and places where problems arise, even when you've take really good care of your body and had supreme care. The good news is that much of what might go wrong in labor is predictable in early pregnancy.
Interventions are sometimes necessary because of complications, however, they are more likely to be used as a matter of policy, either from your place of birth or your practitioner. For example, the use of an IV or fetal monitoring typically falls into this category. Intervention is not always a bad thing, despite the negative connotation it may have.
In fact, you may be willing to accept certain interventions in exchange for things like an epidural. The IV, continuous fetal monitoring and extra maternal monitoring are done to help monitor you and the baby for potential negative reactions to the epidural.
We will address some of the more common complications and interventions that can arise later in this class.
More information about specific complications.
Other Interventions in Labor
