Emotional and Physical Effects of C-sections upon Women

I found this recent article, detailing the emotional impact of c-sections upon a woman, to be very informative. Though I have never had a c-section, I can relate to a lot of the emotional effects, since I have had two medicalized births, laden with nearly every intervention possible. Too often one's caregiver intervenes and causes complications in the birth, requiring further intervention. If a mother feels less than satisfied with her birth experience, everyone simply tells her to be grateful, after all, she has a healthy baby, now. I wholeheartedly agree that a healthy baby is fundamental, but the mother's experience and her well-being is important, as well. Often, after my medicalized births, I just laid in the hospital bed, wondering what had happened to me. Giving birth was the last thing that I felt like I did; I truly didn't feel like an active participant. Birth ought to be a beautiful experience, both for the mother and the baby. (Please note- I am referring to unnecessary c-sections due to unnecessary causes and interventions. A true emergency, such as placenta previa or a cord prolapse are true medical emergencies and necessitate a c-section. )

If, for a true medical emergency, such as the ones detailed above, one requires a c-section, it is wise to ask for a double layer suture repair. According to Heart and Hands, most doctors have been performing single layer suture repair for quite a while now. Single layer suture repair quadruples the chance of future utering rupture.

This sign in a doctor's office is most disturbing to me. It states: "We will not participate in a birth contract, a doulah assisted or a Bradley method delivery." Wow! I could not endure receiving pre-natal care from such a place. I am so grateful that there are options of pro-natural birth doctors and midwives.

I have read a plethora of books on the topic of birth. One particular book was so well written, and engaging, that I could not put it down, until I read the last chapter. The author's conclusion was that if one is for choice regarding birth, one must be for abortion, as well. I find this to be, not only extremely faulty logic, but that this advocate of "informed consent" (disclosure by the doctor to the patient of possible adverse effects of various pills, procedures, etc.) was not revealing the truth, herself. (Unless she was completely ignorant, which may also be the case.) The author of this book frequently quotes the adverse effects of c-sections on women and future pregnancies, but she neglects to share the plenitude of negative effects of abortion on a woman's uterus.Recent studies have found that abortion scars the uterus and can cause severe complications, even involving future pregnancies. It is inconsistent to belabor the negative effects of c-sections without also examining the horrible effects of abortion, upon a woman's body. I abhor abortion with every fiber of my being. Every woman should be permitted to bring forth life in whatever setting she is most comfortable with.