“I wish that I had known more about my options back then.” My mother had been in strenous pain for hours before the doctor rushed into the room, turned to my dad and suggested a Cesarean birth. Looking between his exhausted wife and the doctor, my dad didn’t know what to do, but finally he gave in to the doctor’s suggestion.
Years later, after watching my mom suffer numerous health complications due to this last-minute decision, I finally asked my mom if she would have done it differently.
“With what I know now, I think I would have,” she said.
Joining in 'A National Rally for Change,' a movement sponsored by Improving Birth, women gathered together in over 50 major cities in America on Labor Day.
As women take the important step to bring their child into the world they are faced with many choices. Do they go the all natural way without any modern medicine? Do they induce? Do they have a Cesarean birth?
I don’t believe one answer is right for all women. The extreme naturalists would most likely disagree with me in my belief that sometimes inducing birth and C-sections are ok. But that’s just it; it depends on your situation, and it should be your choice. And how do we make good choices? By being informed.
Let’s be honest, after hours of life-changing pain, is that really the moment to make a big decision? I don’t know about you, but I would probably say something to the effect of, “let’s just get this over with.” I’m sure any supportive husband would want it to be over just as much as his wife does so they can get that bundle of joy safely into their arms and somehow realize that it was all worth it.
The Improving Birth organization sent out a report that although “the World Health Organization recommends cesarean rates should be no higher than 10–15%....1 in 3 American women are giving birth surgically.”
My question is, why has there been more of a push for surgical births in recent years?
In recent years there has been a national increase in malpractice suits against doctors, and I believe this is what is leading doctors to push surgery a bit more.
However, I do not think that the blame lies fully in the doctors' court since they can only do so much to control the law that has been placed on them.
We as Americans need to take more responsibility for our actions. We can do that by being better informed and making our decisions before the last minute.
One of the goals of the “National Rally for Change” is to help medical professionals join with patients in order to help women be more informed about their options.
I think this is a great idea. Women should be more informed about their delivery options before the birth process so they can do the best thing for their bodies and for their children.
American women have the choice to be more informed about their decisions and should have already made up their minds what they would do in situation A or B before the delivery.
Women and medical professionals need to take more responsibility in working together to inform the patient about their options so that those women can make informed decisions, so that someday they don’t have to look back and say, “I wish I could have done that differently.”