Childbirth is not "easy" per se, but the medical establishment in the U.S. (especially in TX) has a very high (unnecessarily so) c-section rate and I wanted to do everything in my power to avoid one.
I'm not a soft-and-fuzzy "childbirth is lovely" type of person by any means. . .I had just read enough to understand that it's all a slippery slope - inducement leads to an epidural, which leads to a *MUCH* higher chance of a c-section, which carries a *MUCH* higher risk of injury/death to the mum/baby - both of which I wanted to avoid.
Doctors convince women that their section was necessary for all sorts of reasons - baby was "too big" (mine were both over 8.5lbs and I'm not a big gal), cord was around neck (once for my son, twice for my daughter - happens in ~30% of births), baby was "in distress (read up on fetal heart monitors), etc.
The fact of the matter is that the World Health Organization recommends no more than 10-15% of births be c-sections. . .yet in the U.S. the rate is 30% (40% in some areas). Elective c-sections aside, doctors convince each and every one of the moms that their c-section was necessary because _______. It really gets my goat. Statistically, most of the non-elective c-sections occur when it's time for the doctors to go home - i.e. dinner time and bed time. Hmmm.
That said, sometimes they really and truly are necessary and I'm 100% supportive of those. A friend of mine in the U.S. had a c-section a couple of weeks ago to save her life; she had somehow developed pneumonia, which was not diagnosed (trouble breathing, tired, vomiting - all common pregnancy side effects, right?). By the time they realized what was going on her lungs and her heart were failing. . .so they delivered the baby a month or so early. Even then, they were giving her a 50/50 chance of surviving - scary.
Anyway, I think the most important part of reading will be to understand what is supposed to happen during childbirth and what happens during today's childbirths. It's a real eye-opener. . .
Childbirth is not "easy" per se, but the medical establishment in the U.S. (especially in TX) has a very high (unnecessarily so) c-section rate and I wanted to do everything in my power to avoid one.
I'm not a soft-and-fuzzy "childbirth is lovely" type of person by any means. . .I had just read enough to understand that it's all a slippery slope - inducement leads to an epidural, which leads to a *MUCH* higher chance of a c-section, which carries a *MUCH* higher risk of injury/death to the mum/baby - both of which I wanted to avoid.
Doctors convince women that their section was necessary for all sorts of reasons - baby was "too big" (mine were both over 8.5lbs and I'm not a big gal), cord was around neck (once for my son, twice for my daughter - happens in ~30% of births), baby was "in distress (read up on fetal heart monitors), etc.
The fact of the matter is that the World Health Organization recommends no more than 10-15% of births be c-sections. . .yet in the U.S. the rate is 30% (40% in some areas). Elective c-sections aside, doctors convince each and every one of the moms that their c-section was necessary because _______. It really gets my goat. Statistically, most of the non-elective c-sections occur when it's time for the doctors to go home - i.e. dinner time and bed time. Hmmm.
That said, sometimes they really and truly are necessary and I'm 100% supportive of those. A friend of mine in the U.S. had a c-section a couple of weeks ago to save her life; she had somehow developed pneumonia, which was not diagnosed (trouble breathing, tired, vomiting - all common pregnancy side effects, right?). By the time they realized what was going on her lungs and her heart were failing. . .so they delivered the baby a month or so early. Even then, they were giving her a 50/50 chance of surviving - scary.
Anyway, I think the most important part of reading will be to understand what is supposed to happen during childbirth and what happens during today's childbirths. It's a real eye-opener. . .
Congratulations on your pregnancy SQ!