“Remember this, for it is as true as true gets: Your body is not a lemon. You are not a machine. The Creator is not a careless mechanic. Human female bodies have the same potential to give birth well as aardvarks, lions, rhinoceri, elephants, moose, and water buffalo. Even if it has not been your habit throughout your life so far, I recommend that you learn to think positively about your body.”
― Ina May Gaskin, Ina May's Guide to Childbirth: Updated With New Material
I feel that every woman deserves to hear more of the wisdom and positivity available from this woman who has spent her life helping women bring their children into the world in a way that respects the mother's body and soul. Read Midwife Q&A: Are We Having Babies All Wrong?, an interview with Ina May Gaskin in TIME Magazine, for some insight into her opinions about the current standard of American maternity care.
Ina May Gaskin touches on the topic of c-sections briefly in the article and there is a link within that leads to more information about the risks of the procedure. As I've gone on to educate myself about American birth culture I've found that there are some startling statistics regarding cesarean rates in the United States, made more alarming by the numbers of which are actually elective procedures, pre-scheduled by the mom-to-be and lacking medical necessity.
With c-section rates at nearly 40% in some states, it's clear that the procedure has become an actual option for birth, rather than a surgical intervention used only in the event of an emergency. It's easy to see how women, first-time mothers especially, could be fooled into thinking that undergoing a cesarean is no big deal, rather than seeing it as a serious abdominal surgery. A study by the Division of Vital Statistics, National Center for Health Statistics, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention regarding neonatal mortality statistics for cesarean sections without medical necessity concludes with "The finding that cesarean deliveries with no labor complications or procedures remained at a 69 percent higher risk of neonatal mortality than planned vaginal deliveries is important, given the rapid increase in the number of primary cesarean deliveries without a reported medical indication."
With conclusions such as this being made by some of the nations foremost health monitoring agencies, I think it's time that we work towards educating women about the realities of straying so far from natural birth; even more importantly, work must be done with physicians and medical professionals to get our nation back on track to having babies without so many unnecessary risks. Mothers and babies, alike, deserve the best possible start; let's start moving in a direction that facilitates as smooth a transition as possible for both.
