Monday, June 21, 2010

Laboring before Cesarean

When I initially started my childbirth research, I found that laboring is good for babies (something my Dr. left out when he informed me that I needed a c-section). It triggers needed hormones for bonding, breastfeeding, and breathing to name a few. I had stated in a previous post that even though I am spending so much time doing all of this research to educate myself on my choices, what is it all worth if I just end up with a c-section in the end anyway? Answer: the next time I will KNOW that I did everything in my power to prevent a c-section, and even a labor that ends in c-section is much better than a scheduled repeat cesarean (unless someone has major health issues, for example some people with heart conditions are not advised to attempt labor, or any other extreme situations, etc..). Here is a helpful link to provide more info on this topic:

http://pregnancy.about.com/cs/laborbirth/a/aa042300a.htm?r=et

ALSO: I read the most interesting book last week: "Birth" by Tina Cassidy. Its all about the history of anything and everything about birth from the evolution of the woman's body to how OB's came to be, to the development and use of drugs during labor, to the violent attempts to extract a stuck fetus...you name it. And MAINLY it explained why there is such a FEAR stigma associated with birth. There were so many things that Dr.'s unknowingly did to cause death in childbirth back then....and now society has conditioned us to fear birth. I highly recommend this book for anyone who plans to give birth in the future.

The next book on my list is "Your Best Birth" by Ricki Lake and Abby Epstein who produced the Business of Being born documentary.

1 comment:

Courtney said...

Keep these posts coming...I'm training to become a doula in the fall so I'm interested in your thoughts on this subject. What I don't think doctors (esp male obs) realize is just how much our birth stories effect us for years to come.