A Necessary Evil
By Emily Jones
April 21, 2008
One statement I think nearly everyone can agree on is that we are grateful to live in a time of such medical technology and advances that so many lives can be saved, and the quality of life can be improved. Even natural childbirth advocates, as strongly as they decry unnecessary medical intervention and surgeon-attended births, have no problem with using these technologies in cases where it is medically indicated. (There is considerable debate as to what is constitutes “medically indicated,” but that’s an article for another day.)
The most extreme example of this, and one of the most controversial, is the cesarean section. Some hospital birth advocates are under the impression that natural childbirth advocates see no need whatsoever for c-section, but this is not true. Among the natural childbirth circles, there are certainly many women who have had to have a c-section for medically-indicated reasons, such as placenta previa, transverse lie, and cord prolapse, to name a few. These women are not scorned, or “cast out” of the natural childbirth circles. Instead, they are loved and embraced, and supported through the procedure. But the news is never greeted with enthusiasm or happiness. It shouldn’t be. It is a major surgery that carries significant risks and takes time and help to recover from.
Some would rather that we be grateful for c-sections, claiming c-sections to be the Saving Grace of the human race, having rescued us from almost certain demise through women and babies dying in childbirth by the millions. But this is a ridiculous claim. Of course women and babies sometimes died in childbirth. They still do today. But what were women and children dying from? Could every woman and child who died in or around childbirth have been saved by a c-section? What about disease, malnutrition, or birth defects? What about non-surgical complications, such as bleeding, prematurity, or respiratory distress in babies after birth? My point is, women and children have died, for a variety of reasons. It’s silly to consider this one aspect of medical technology to be the absolute answer. Besides that, even before c-sections, the world population managed to continue to grow and expand, despite the scores of women and children that were supposedly being killed off by childbirth.
But back to my original premise. C-sections ARE lifesaving under many circumstances, and I would not get rid of them any time soon. That does not make them a Good Thing. That makes them a necessary thing.
In other areas of medicine, great care is taken to explore every option before surgical intervention. It is recognized that surgery carries with it significant risks and recovery issues, and is generally considered a last resort option. When a person is determined to require a major surgery, the news is not greeted with congratulations and gratitude. It is typically received as bad news, and accompanied by fear, concern, and well-wishing for a speedy recovery.
Why is this not so with c-sections? Women proudly discuss their scheduled surgeries. Women approach c-sections as if it were nothing more than an outpatient procedure. It has become so prevalent, that women don’t even ask WHY other women are having surgery anymore. It is just accepted as a part of today’s maternity model. This is wrong. Cesarean section is still surgery - a major abdominal surgery.
Women should not be so quick to get cut open. And women should certainly not be so quick to be happy for those who must get cut open. It is a sad occasion each and every time a woman and baby must endure a surgery, especially at a time when mothers and babies will already need every ounce of strength and bodily integrity they already have.
How grateful I am that many mothers and babies are alive today because of the modern technology that makes it possible in otherwise impossible situations. But it’s still surgery. It’s still dangerous and painful, and carries serious risks, and that should never be taken for granted.
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VERY well put!
Amazing! I agree with all of it fully. And I AM a natural birth advocate, particularly out-of-hospital births.