C-section vs. letting Mom go naturally

Specialties Ob/Gyn

Published

Why am I hearing more and more of Dr.'s that ASK their patient's if they want to have a c-section instead of waiting and letting nature take it's course and baby comes naturally? I just don't get it!

I have a friend that is pregnant for the first time, isn't due for a few more weeks, has a very healthy pregnancy, no problems with her or the baby except that at last U/S, they guesstimated the baby is almost 9 lbs and has still not descended any and her cervix is still closed and thick. He offered her a c-section in a few days and she took the offer! Ugh! Ok, I may be old-school here in my thinking but I just don't see why any Dr. would offer that (besides they see it as easy money in their pocket) or why any woman would want that!! C-sections are major surgery to the body, as we all know. They are relatively easy in uncomplicated pregnancies but there is still more room for post-op infections, bleeding problems, etc...why can't Dr.'s just leave well-enough alone and let nature take it's course and let the woman's body do what it was made to do and has been doing for centuries...the baby will come out when it's good and ready, her body will tell her it's time to deliver that baby. She's not even at her due date yet, and it's her first baby, of course the baby hasn't descended yet and there's no dilation! Duh! Give it a few weeks, tell her to go walking, have sex, etc...geez!

I can totally understand if there were underlying circumstances here that would make a c-section the better option, but for my friend, there isn't any. It's not even a case where the Dr. doesn't think the baby will pass through the birth canal, he just gave her a choice, and being first-time pregnant and tired of being pregnant, she took the c-section. Baffles me!:uhoh3: I'm an advocate for natural birth, as natural as medically possible of course and I'm all for women making decisions and all but to me, this is just ridiculous that a Dr. would suggest this to a first-time mom who will never even know if her body can deliver a baby naturally, and more than likely, she never will be able to experience that (even though I realize there are VBACs though it seems more and more Dr.'s are going away from those as well).

What do you all see in your L&D's? Is this practice normal when there are NO medical reasons for a c-section? :confused:

Specializes in OB-Gyn/Primary Care/Ambulatory Leadership.
The decreased litigation (perceived or real) and the convience of scheduled c- sections IMO is why most obstetricians have increased the amount of elective c-sections.

I completely agree. I don't believe that it's out of greed at being able to bill more for a C/S. I believe it's out of fear of litigation.

@alohagirljam-the documentary was called "The Business of Being Born." I watched it on Netflix.

Another thing they mentioned on there was the lack of bonding between baby and mom with C-sections. I don't remember exactly what was said but it just sticks out in my head that the bonding process was interrupted with C-sections. I think it had to do with the lack of pitocin/oxytocin (?) release when you have a CS.

Specializes in cardiac, ICU, education.
The decreased litigation (perceived or real) and the convience of scheduled c- sections IMO is why most obstetricians have increased the amount of elective c-sections.

I agree. I had my second daughter via cesarean because she was undeliverable breach. I then had my youngest VBAC. I liked both lady partsl deliveries so much because I was able to get back to normal within a couple of days (cesarean took a few weeks).

My doc always went lady partsl first if he could, but he told me if I got pregnant now, he would have to do a cesarean because of the liability and the OB profession now basically requires it. He said he would have no chance in court if he had complications from a VBAC because professionally it is no longer advised especially in local hospitals. Most local hospitals do not always have the staff for an emergency cesarean. So if you go into normal labor on a night or weekend, and have an emergency, you may have to wait longer than you should.

Specializes in PICU, Sedation/Radiology, PACU.

Another reason that c-sections are on the rise is the increase in fertility treatments and resulting multiple pregnancies. Most twin and triplet pregnancies are delivered via c-section and these are usually scheduled c-sections. This doesn't relate to the original post about offering c-sections in favor of natural births, but I'm sure these multiples are included in the c-section statistics.

Locally we are seeing this, it's my understanding that the increase is driven by lawsuits. As one care provider here explained, 'you can't sue for doing a cesarean but you can sue for not doing one'. I don't agree with that, but that's the mentality behind it.

Specializes in OB-Gyn/Primary Care/Ambulatory Leadership.
Another reason that c-sections are on the rise is the increase in fertility treatments and resulting multiple pregnancies. .

In addition - women are fatter and older now. Sorry to be blunt, but it's true. Obesity increases risk of C/S. As does AMA (which goes back to what you're saying about increased use of fertility treatments).

I couldn't agree with the OP more if our brains were somehow wired together.

But as a patient, I can tell you that if the patient doesn't educate themselves and advocate for what they want then doctors and nurses will often push many things off on the patient that are not necessary (not saying any of you do that :). I actually got told off several times by a nurse during the labor of my first child (induced) because I didn't want an epidural.

And I don't think the lawsuit excuse applies when a pregnant woman's due date is several weeks away and the only reason for doing a c/s is a 9 lbs. baby and the cervix is still closed and thick. Many times when the baby is actually born he/she doesn't weigh as much as what was GUESSED while the baby was in the womb.

BTW, the whole c/s push is why I always waited until the last minute possible to go to the hospital when I was in labor (when I wasn't being induced).

I completely agree. I don't believe that it's out of greed at being able to bill more for a C/S. I believe it's out of fear of litigation.

Fear of litigation over what? A healthy mom more than likely lady partslly delivering a normal, healthy baby? We've been doing it for centuries and it's more safe now than ever before. I still agree that c-sections pose more risks, elective or not and should be a last resort based on any adverse health risks to mom and/or baby, not done for convenience of the Dr and/or the mom.

My friend I speak of is very young, it's her first baby, and she never attended any child birthing classes, even though they've been offered and encouraged. Her young age and being scared of giving birth naturally probably helped the easy-going Dr offer her the option of just coming in and taking the baby out. As I said before, I'm old-school...I'm an advocate of letting that baby simmer until done, and barring no health issues of either mom or baby, waiting for mom's body to give birth as it was made to do.

I couldn't agree with the OP more if our brains were somehow wired together.

But as a patient, I can tell you that if the patient doesn't educate themselves and advocate for what they want then doctors and nurses will often push many things off on the patient that are not necessary (not saying any of you do that :). I actually got told off several times by a nurse during the labor of my first child (induced) because I didn't want an epidural.

And I don't think the lawsuit excuse applies when a pregnant woman's due date is several weeks away and the only reason for doing a c/s is a 9 lbs. baby and the cervix is still closed and thick. Many times when the baby is actually born he/she doesn't weigh as much as what was GUESSED while the baby was in the womb.

My thoughts exactly!! Our brains are wired! :)

My friend is very young and didn't even attend any kind of child birthing class to even know her options. She's simply tired of being pregnant and afraid of having a big baby, that's it. IMO, shame on her Dr for taking advantage of that and offering to just cut her open for convenience sake! Arrrrgh, makes me mad! Lol. I bet dollars to doughnuts her baby won't be 9 lbs or more once it's born!

Fear of litigation over what? A healthy mom more than likely lady partslly delivering a normal, healthy baby? We've been doing it for centuries and it's more safe now than ever before. I still agree that c-sections pose more risks, elective or not and should be a last resort based on any adverse health risks to mom and/or baby, not done for convenience of the Dr and/or the mom.

Exactly, it's as normal as sneezing... we've been doing that since the beginning of time too and very rarely have trouble doing so. So why are 1/3 of babies born surgically?

Unfortunately, in today's society care providers are sued far too often for not doing a cesarean when something isn't perfect .... the caveat is that we create the not-so-perfect scenarios by: not being healthy before pregnancy, not getting optimal prenatal care, utilizing surgeons for primary care for low-risk pregnancies when midwifery care is proven safe, relying (in my opinion) too heavily on technology to guide us, intervening when unnecessary.... the list goes on and on. The US doesn't support our pregnant women or postpartum families the way other countries do. In '06 our country was reported to have the 2nd worst newborn mortality rate in the world, Latvia was the only country that had more deaths. So, we are definitely not saving more babies by doing cesarean sections. Around that same time the maternal mortality rate, specifically for cesarean sections, was 4x higher than in lady partsl birth. We desperately need a change.

To the OP:

Do you think you could talk to your friend and try to educate her? Would that be out of order? Is it too late to do so? A c/s is going to be rough unless she has a person or person(s) to do a lot of helping while she is recovering. Everyone (including myself) doesn't have a whole host of family and friends to take care of everything while new mom rests.

+ Add a Comment