Women who get caesareans don’t know the whole story
A new survey shows that most women who get caesarean sections think that they are necessary and lack information on the surgery’s complications.
Childbirth Connection, who published the Listening to Mothers survey, questioned 1300 women, most of whom said they felt they were poorly informed about the potential complications. 10 percent thought they were pressured into having a caesarean section by a healthcare professional.
Some observers have said mothers' decision-making is the cause of the U.S. caesarean rate, which at almost 25 percent is significantly higher than the World Health Organization's guideline of 10 percent to 15 percent.
That makes it all the more important for women to have all the information necessary.
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I've read that obstetricians pay the highest premiums for medical malpractice insurance, so perhaps the number of c-sections performed in this country have to do with all the lawsuits they've lost and not wanting to take any chances.
But then I might be wrong about that.
www.ican.org is an organization that helps women who have had c-sections, and a great many of the women there felt both pressured and traumatized by it. Including myself. And no, you don't get much info about possible complications.
Hospitals like them for lots of reasons; they're scheduled, quick, and hospitals do feel that they're less likely to be sued. Natural births are messy and unpredictable. What the women wants or even what is best for her health is, sadly, not often considered important. And OBs and even many midwives are not trained in effective natural childbirth techniques that can help prevent c-sections. Women are on their own, and so are vulnerable to the pressure to get interventions.