High
Cesarean Rate: Are You Part of the Solution?
by: Claudia Villeneuve, leader Edmonton
VBAC Support Association/ICAN of Edmonton
* Names have been changed to protect the
mothers' identities.
Maria* wished to have a vaginal birth to
avoid another cesarean but her physician got nervous when
the baby turned breech; before her due date and during a
routine biophysical test, she was told she needed a cesarean
now or her baby would die. Sandra* prepared for a natural
birth but chose to birth in a hospital with high cesarean
rates; she ended with a cesarean even though she and the
baby were healthy. Polly* received an early morning phone
call from her hospital every day for fourteen days straight
recommending she came in for a labour induction; she now
believes that an induction on day 1 would have led to an
unnecessary cesarean.
Carol* planned a homebirth after what she
called “two forced cesareans” but decided to transfer to
the hospital for a cesarean after sensing unusual abdominal
pain near the old scar area; her dream to finally have a
calm and family-centered vaginal birth was crushed.
Women with experiences like these are all
around us. Caregivers, family members and friends offer ill-timed
advice: “you can always have more children”, “you should
be glad the technology was there to save you”, “and “just
book a cesarean next time and get it over with.” But it seems
that no one listens when these women say hospitals may have
mismanaged the labour, or that they could have had a vaginal
birth if only their caregivers had been patient. The World
Health Organization recommends since 1985 a maximum cesarean
rate of 15 percent; but sadly Canada is already over 22,
Australia over 28 and the United States over 29. When is
the rise going to stop? When we have Chile's 40 or Brazilian
private hospitals' 80 percent cesarean rates? The ugly truth
is that a cesarean or a c-section is major abdominal surgery
that causes deep physical and emotional wounds to women at
a time when they are supposed to feel happy and strong giving
birth. Cesareans are becoming standard care for overly conservative
caregivers that want to avoid lawsuits, or that prefer to
deliver babies during so-called office hours. The myth is
that women choose cesareans for convenience but they are
often told is “better for the baby.” Ask yourself how can
you help raise awareness of the high cesarean rate? Education
of women and caregivers is one step, but support of the women
that are already cut is another. Would you like to be part
of the solution? Because the old saying still rings true,
if you are not part of the solution…
One solution is to attend the 3rd Annual
Cesarean Awareness Public Meeting on Saturday, April 22,
2006 at the Strathcona Centre Hall on 10139 - 87 Avenue in
Edmonton from 1:00 to 4:00 pm. Key people will be in attendance
and they need to hear your birth stories and your ideas to
lower the cesarean rate. Volunteers are needed for the organizing
committee and media relations work.
Another solution is to join the only Alberta
chapter of the International Cesarean Awareness Network (ICAN)
for forty dollars per year or seven hundred dollars for a
lifetime. Your subscription means that you agree with its
mission statement to improve maternal-child health by
preventing unnecessary cesareans through education, providing
support for cesarean recovery, and promoting vaginal birth
after cesarean (VBAC) . Your contribution supports all
the local and Canada-wide awareness efforts.
For more information
call the chapter at (780) 444-3041 or preferably send an
email to EdmontonVBAC
@ yahoo.ca .
Our mailing address is 7604-153 Street, Edmonton, AB T5R
1N4. Cesarean and VBAC support meetings take place in Edmonton,
Calgary SW and soon Red Deer. For Calgary meeting information
contact Janice at zapfesmiths
@ shaw.ca or
(403) 278-2936. The Edmonton VBAC Support Association/ICAN
of Edmonton is celebrating 20 years. Visit www.edmontonvbac.netfirms.com and www.ican-online.org .
Submitted for publication
on Spring 2006 issue of Birth Issues magazine,
published by ASAC in Edmonton.
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