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The c-section detective

Unnecessary C-sections: The Cesarean Detective

Modern generations have been plagued by record high, unnecessary c-sections.

This video has been getting a lot of attention on social media this week.

Rightfully so. It’s inspiring to see people in the medical community showing concern and taking action for the sky rocketing cesarean section rates and (hopefully) inspiring their peers to do the same.

We are lucky in Singapore to have several Obstetricians committed to keeping their personal surgery rates down while the rest of the city surges forward with operative birth.

How wonderful if accountability became the norm!

Here’s the clip:

Thought provoking right?

Management, accountability and reporting back. Yes that is what will get us somewhere!

‘Since 1970, the number of C-sections performed in the United States has gone up by 500 percent. Some of this increase is because mothers have become older and less healthy, conferring greater risks in pregnancy. But having a baby in this decade is not 500 percent riskier than having a baby in the 1970s. We know this because C-sections rates in just the women who are young and perfectly healthy have gone up just as quickly. And contrary to popular belief, this has little to do with maternal preferences. First-time mothers who request C-sections with no medical reason make up fewer than 1 percent of the total.’ ~Washinton Post article: I’m an OB/GYN. I’m not sure every baby needs to be born in the hospital. 

Overuse of unnecessary c-sections is not just an American problem, but a global epidemic.

We are risking so many mums and babies when the surgery is used so routinely; 1 in 3 mums or 70% in some hospitals!

“Cesareans are major surgery and major surgery carries risks–in the United States, complications such as severe hemorrhage, organ injury, and sepsis are three times more common with cesareans compared to normal vaginal births. In countries that lack robust blood banks and other resources for safe surgery the risks are considerably higher. It is also important to keep in mind that childbirth is rarely a one-time event. We (obstetricians) are the only surgeons to repeatedly cut on the same scar over and over again, compounding the risks each time. This can lead to a dangerous condition called placenta accrete, where the placenta becomes fixed within the scar tissue and does not detach properly. In these cases women can, and in many cases do, bleed to death.” ~In an interview with Science and Sensibility 

While this speaks to some of the physical risks we cannot underestimate the affects emotionally and spiritually as well as those to the baby.

I love at the end of the video how he says: “women are going to be the driving force behind the change.”

More of us need to tell our doctors why we are switching to another, share birth stories, send feedback to hospitals after our births, send letters to the ministry of health, participate in rallies, and blog. There are many ways to have our voices heard. We need to raise awareness about unnecessary c-sections.

Hats-off to Dr Shah. I hope many of your colleagues will follow suit.

Here is a goods story about how parents planned and executed a natural birth with no c-sections.

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