Baby Seetoo on a Baby Story: Induction turned Cesarean
By Homebirth Mama
January 18, 2008
On a new episode of A Baby Story, a lovely couple are awaiting their first child’s arrival. Kathy, the expectant mother, is a funny, down to earth, sweet woman. In the beginning of the show, she’s also miserable with swollen ankles. She’s 5 days from her due date.
Because she is so uncomfortable, her doctor offers to induce her labor. She goes into the hospital for the induction, and is 2cm dilated, 80% effaced, and her baby is at station -3 (very high). This is not a favorable rating for induction. Her Bishop’s Score couldn’t have been higher than 4, and it’s recommended to not induce with a score of 9 or lower. Despite that, they immediately rupture the bag of waters, and start a pitocin induction.
At this point, there is no going back. With the broken waters the hospital put women on a clock that can’t be turned back. Once the waters are broken, the mother is at a greater risk for infection. This, however, is never discussed.
Contractions start, and are very strong. Kathy has an epidural to cope with the increasingly painful Pit contractions. Her doctor that broke the waters goes off duty, and another comes in to meet her and check her progress. She is dilated to 4-5cm, and the baby is still high at -3 station. At this point they begin mentioning a cesarean. So the nurse explains to her that she might need a cesarean, and that she won’t be able to eat until tomorrow. That’s the information they’ve given about a c-section. No food. No mention of risks, complications or alternatives. Just no food.
Her husband decides that he needs a break, so he goes out with the rest of the family to eat. Meanwhile, Kathy is left to labor alone, and wanting food. But no, the husband has to eat because “it’s going to be a long night.” His starving wife will just have to get by on sheer will alone.
Of course, an hour later they check her cervix and she hasn’t progressed, so they take her down for a cesarean. The baby is born at a healthy weight of 8 lbs, but shortly after has to be taken to the NICU for a fever and fluid in the lungs. The baby spends a week in the NICU with these problems, which are never explained. They thought it might have been a fever, but they weren’t sure. No mention is made that babies who are born by cesarean are at a greater risk.
Put this in perspective. A woman is uncomfortable because she’s pregnant. Her doctor doesn’t tell her of the risks of induction, but just tells her to go in before her due date. Her doctor ruptures her membranes, and then over the course of the next 12 hours continues to check her cervix multiple times, exposing her to infection. The baby is born by cesarean, and taken to the NICU for an apparent infection. The baby also has water in her lungs.
This doesn’t seem to be a coincidence. It’s happening every day in this country. Doctors are not informing women of the real risks of induction. And why don’t the women look into the risks themselves? Well, they trust their doctors, of course. And they watch shows like A Baby Story to see what happens in real life. Unfortunately, the show never makes the connection between induction and cesarean.
Comments
One Response to “Baby Seetoo on a Baby Story: Induction turned Cesarean”
Got something to say?
Woo!! Go Mrs. Seetoo! Your the bestest AR math teacher EVER!!!!!!! Your husband made a bad choice, but you did ok!!!!