elective cesarean

a good friend of mine birthed a 10 pounder. her first baby. mom is all of 4 ft 10 in and weighed less than 90 lb(pre pg).
NO TEARS

size of the woman doesn't matter, why don't people realize that?
and big babies come out the natural way all the time.
and, this one really confuses me...why would you choose to have your abdomen and uterus sliced open in the name of preventing a perineal tear?

I'm not sure why the doctor felt it necessary to admit that woman early and start pit either. neither of those would improve outcome, I don't think.
maybe the doc's clueless on how to best manage labor, but kudos to the 'clueless docs' who stick to their guns and save c/s for those who really need it.

I have a friend who recently had a c- section two weeks early because she considers the vaginal birthing process to be "disgusting and degrading". Of course initially the Dr agreed, but the insurance company refused. Eventually though she got the c- section anyway under the premise that she would be too "anxious" to deliver vaginally which could risk her and her babies health!!

I also came across another woman recently who had her second baby as an electice c- section because of course she had no idea she could try for a v- bac. The baby ended up in NICU for two weeks because his immature, delivered two weeks early lungs collapsed. He is OK but will probably have long term lung problems. She simply could not believe that this had happened and that no one told her that it was a possibility. Talk about lack of consent! She said she never would have consented to it if she had been told of the potential risks to her baby. She also said one of the NICU nurses said they are seeing a huge increase in problems such as these due in part to the now almost 30% c- section rate in this country. Scarey stuff!!

I really don't mean to judge others for choices they make, but how can they REALLY make choices without accurate information about the risks involved? It is totally beyond me, really.........

Hi All

Of course the post is ridiculous. Sites like this one obviously thrive on creating uproar. This is the Web. Buyer beware.

If indeed the woman who is the subject of the post did have this horrendous experience I don't think those who have any power to change things are going to read about it there.

Of course it is ridiculous that a woman is not informed about enough facts and risks that she can ask intelligent questions! Somewhere along the line all women who give birth owe it to themselves to do a lot of reading, questioning, assessing and deciding for themselves. This is where good antenatal education comes in. We certainly cannot rely on a doctor to tell us all we need to know. I learned that a long time ago.

Sadly, for this woman, what is done is done, and also sadly she will be living with the consequences of it all her life. She may even turn up here looking for support, and of course, we will give her support and encouragement, and equip her to seek out good advice for her next baby, and looking after her battered body in the future. What more can we do? I don't see a lot of point in trying to change their minds. The fact that they keep deleting posts and blocking people says they are not openminded at all. Why bother with them? I would rather use my time to write a review of Saving the Whole Woman for Amazon.com. I think that sort of activity has more chance of influencing women positively.

Cheers

Louise