"Hanna Graeffe" <hanna.graeffe@h...> wrote:
"Hanna Graeffe" <hanna.graeffe@h...> wrote:
> Try to avoid cesarean section. Choose a caregiver with a low rate of
> c/s, or get a home birth with a midwife, if that is an option in your
> area. It takes longer to recover from a c/s, it is a big operation and
> the muscles are affected. A singer does not want that to happen. The
> c/s rate varies greatly, but on average it is done pretty easily in
> the US, compared with other "Western" countries (and the outcome
> generally is better in those other countries).
RE: protecting your abdominal muscles from C section if you're birthing in
the US...
An option for US women who wish to birth in a hospital is to hire a
professional doula. Even if you include your desire to avoid a surgical
interventions in your birthplan, things can happen quickly, and it helps
to have an advocate by your side to remind hospital staff of your wishes
while you are in the middle of a big contraction!
Epidurals dull your pain, but they reduce your sensitivity to the need to
"push" in late labor. Being drugged up too much can interfere with your
ability to push your baby out, leading to unnecessarily long labor,
exhaustion and possibly a C section at the end. The epidural hardware will
also interfere with your ability to change positions (gravity can help
move a baby). The altered state of consciousness may diminish your ability
to advocate for yourself. Again, all these problems will interfere with a
smooth labor, making C section more likely.
Also, it is easier now to get a CNM (certified nurse midwife) instead of
an OB/GYN at a hospital birth. Statistically, a CNM will spend a lot more
time physically with you during a birth, making it a lot less likely that
things will spiral quickly to an emergency "stat" C section situation.
"Stat" C sections are much less forgiving to your abdominal muscles.
And of course, Hanna is right, a homebirth with a skilled midwife is
probably your best bet to avoid unwanted interventions. This is still an
option in most US states. A hospital in my area has a 33% C section
rate! Do your homework about where you birth your baby...
Tako
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