Okay, if you are a guy and is pretty squemish about labour and delivery and blood and gore and babies and such…then it is time you avert your eyes and go to another blog. Don’t want to traumatise some unsuspecting guy (or ‘innocent’ single girls, for that matter) with the graphic details of how babies were delivered into this world.
Anyway, I am just writing this debate because it seems to be a hot issue amongst new mommies and even some 2X / 3X / 4X or however many times mommies. Do bear in mind this is my point of view. I am no doctor, no gynae, no obstetrician, no scientist, no whatever expert. It is all based on my own personal experience. You don’t like it, scram. Go complain about it in your own blog or something.Just don’t clog up my comments with your displeasure or whatever crap. Hmmm…talking of which, to all those who used to leave comments here, I have enabled the comment moderation because of spam comment problems and some other techie stuff. So, your comments will appear only after I approve them.
Now, lets proceed. I will do it on point form.
Voluntary Ceasarean delivery (C-Section)
- mother goes under local anaesthesia and is usually out throughout the operation but now there’s a choice for mothers to be fully aware of what’s going on.
- it is not just a delivery but a major operation as the obstetritician will be cutting the mother open to remove the baby and then sew up the incision. This means, it will leave scars not only on the skin but below the skin and inside too.
- not advisable to have more than three children using this method because for the second and third child, incision will be made on the same spot and the skin can only take so many times of being cut open and sewn up.
- painful recovery since it’s a major operation and the stitches will need extra care. It is even more painful for the second and third delivery via ceasarean.
- since it is so painful and a major operation, you won’t be able to walk for the first and second days after delivery without feeling excruciating pain.
- there are other dangers involved as the baby may not be ready to come out (if operation date is before due date), excessive bleeding, an inept surgeon doing it may even cut the baby (it has happened before in some government hospitals), again, an inept surgeon may leave a ‘souvenir’ inside and the mother has to be cut open again to remove the ‘souvenir’ (yep, this has also happened before), the mother may experience blood poisoning, sudden drop in blood pressure and other complications.
- it is not what nature intended
- you will need to limit your activities and won’t be able to lift heavy things or even carry the baby too often as it may affect the stitches. Some women, whose healing rate is slower, are not even able to go for normal exercise in the first 6 months after the delivery.
- after the first c-section, the mother will need to wait at least two years before planning a second child as getting pregnant too soon may affect the stitches and cause bleeding.
- if you opt to be put under when the operation was done, you won’t get to see the baby when it comes out. You will only get to see the baby hours later. This means you won’t be able to initiate mother-child bonding nor will you be able to start breastfeeding immediately to stimulate your glands to start producing milk.
Mind you, the ceasarean section I am talking about is the one where some parents chose to opt for it instead of going for natural delivery. If a mother was wheeled in for an emergency ceasarean because of some medical complications, then it is a different matter altogether.
However, I absolutely do not understand those who opt to go for ceasarean for the below reasons:
- an auspicious birth date for the baby (yeah, sure. If it’s not even time for the baby to come out, how can a date the parent chose be considered the real birthdate? It’s not chosen by the powers above. They might as well choose to commit suicide on a certain date because it is a good auspicious date to die. What a load of hogwash!)
- fear of pain (this is the most ridiculous reasons EVER. It takes about 2 weeks of VERY, VERY painful recovery for someone who underwent ceasarean while someone who went for natural delivery do not feel pain after a few days)
- fear of tearing of the…err..private parts (another stupid fear. Hello? Nature intended for us to deliver babies there and nowadays, doctors will do the cutting so there would not be excessive tears. And then they stitch you back and the stitches heal within several days or in worst case scenario within two weeks – except for cases where you refused to maintain a good hygiene and got it infected…)
- fear of labour pains (again, I’d say the pain after the c-section is worst than the natural delivery pain. Labour pains only happen during labour. Once the baby is out, you don’t feel anymore pain except for some uncomfortable stinging down below. For c-section, you don’t feel labour pain but you will feel the pain of the surgery for weeks after that)
Let’s look at natural delivery:
Natural delivery
- women has been doing it since the time of Adam and Eve
- you are fully aware of what’s going on and you know when the moment the baby comes out
- you will be able to touch and hold and even breastfeed the baby almost immediately after it’s out and was cleaned, measured and whatever by the doctors
- you will suffer labour pains but once the baby is out, it will be like a huge relieve from tremendous pressure and yes, it will make you appreciate your mother more and feel in awe with the way nature works.
- you can have as many children as you possibly could using this method of delivery
- your stitches down below heal faster and you will be able to walk a mere few hours after the delivery without feeling excruciating pain.
- you can resume normal activities and exercise once the stitches have healed which takes about a week or so.
- you don’t have to worry about the stitches and it not healing properly because like I said, the stitches down below are fewer and heals faster.
- there are also possible complications like umbilical cord around the baby’s neck, excessive bleeding, etc.
Whatever the method of delivery, there are always the possibility of complications because we are talking about human lives here and humans are a fragile lot. But why go for a method that held more risks than the natural way that do not have as many risks?
So, for my second baby, I will definitely go for natural delivery. I feel that C-section should only be for emergency cases, not a choice some parents make just because they have some stupid fears or stupidstition about the date of birth.
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Heh! I practically skipped out of the hospital with my baby in my arms a day after delivering her naturally, LOL
Yeah, labour pains are indeed a pain, but it’s okay .. part of the process and all .. and it’s true that most people forget about it after it’s all over. Remember to do your Kegels during your confinement and after! Good luck!
C-sections are definantly not natural. However, many women, like myself, go on to have 4 or 5 c-sections without any problems! With each of my c-sections, my doctor has cut off the old scar. It’s kind of gross to see on the video, but now even after having had 4, I only have one scar (which is hardly visible)!
You said it well- go for natural and leave c-sections for emergency cases if you can. I can not imagine why in the world anyone would WANT a c-section if they could do natural safely!
.-= Morgan´s last blog ..Fun Craft for Preschoolers: I Spy Window Art =-.
Foong ah, I totally agree with you!
I have friends who believe that the birthing process would stretch their vagina too much. I told them that all parts of the body already start to stretch from start of pregnancy, getting ready for the moment. Same goes for breastfeeding. Even without breastfeeding, the breast would not be perky once gravity takes it’s toll.
My friends who have had the C-section always find that they have this annoying pouch in their tummy that no amount of exercise/situps/crunches could get rid of. Also the wound would still be sensitive even after many years and would cause irritations especially when wearing bikini panties.
So my take would be to go natural, like so many millions of women throughout the ages.Of course the exception would be if there’s an emergency. I went natural all three times, and I was up and about within a few hours and could breastfeed.