Cesarean and Vaginal Birth After Cesarean Index
Compiled by LLM
On this page are articles, links and references
about the dangers of cesareans, as well as references
and quotes from studies proving VBAC safety. Also
included are stories and poems from women who
have had cesarean sections, as well as from women
who have had cesareans then gone on to have vaginal
births after cesareans (VBACs)- including home
(midwife-attended and unassisted).
Note that it is important for all women
to understand how much cesareans hurt; since so
many of us get them."It can never happen
to me" are words uttered by every woman before
her c-section(s)- including me.
We are all part of the collective body of birth
and what happens to one of us, happens to all
of us.
Also see:
On this page (click to go to the desired section):
Cesarean and VBAC Birth
Stories, Quotes and Letters
First Choice VBAC Article/Birth
Story
A Butcher’s
Dozen by midwife and author Nancy Wainer.
The article, originally in Midwifery Today magazine
(Spring 2001), covers a vast array of topics of
great interest to women and their birth attendants.
Included:
- why OB-managed birth doesn't work
- 12 clients' birth stories: homebirths that
would have been c-sections in the hospital (including
breech and twin births)
- why hospitals are the worst place for babies
to be born in with true shoulder dystocia
This article is part midwifery crash-course for
learning how to attend a VBAC woman, part rant
against the cursed ignorance of modern obstetrics,
and part VBAC history review and recipe for birth's
future. Included: Nancy went to an OBs' VBAC conference
(an irony there...)- and what did she learn?-
that "the master’s tools will never
dismantle the master’s house". Many
doctors don't much like VBACs...
VBAC is Safe!
View the page
here. This page includes research that shows:
- How rare uterine rupture truly is- and how
rare it is for babies to die in the event of
a uterine rupture.
- That women who have had at least one VBAC
are even less likely to have a rupture.
- That doctors and midwives actually cause scarred
and unscarred uteruses to rupture with their
induction drugs.
- That cesareans don't actually preserve the
pelvic floor.
- Much more that shows how safe VBAC really
is.
VBAC and Cesarean Articles
and Links
Articles on BirthLove
Cesarean
By LLM:
Surgeon
Scars Baby for Life A baby is given
a five inch cut by the surgeon in her elective
(non-emergency) cesarean section. Her story
urges caution for all of us regarding taking
this major surgery lightly.
Elective Cesareans:
A Women's Rights Issue or Florida Swampland?
Cesareans by choice are argued over on "Good
Morning America"; includes commentary by
Marsden Wagner, Suzanne Arms and Henci Goer.
Our True "Right
to Choose" Letters by LLM
and Suzanne Arms written in response to a cesarean
by "choice" Newsweek article.
The
Impact of Cesarean; or Curing the Emotional
Wounds of Cesarean Ibone Olza, a psychiatrist
who has had three cesareans, discusses ways
that women can deal with the sometimes overwhelming
sense of sadness and loss that can can come
with surgical delivery. Also in Spanish:
"El Impacto de la Cesarea" o "Despues
de la Cesarea: Curando la Herida Emocional"
Click
here.
Placenta
Accreta A mother who has placenta accreta
writes about the dangers of this potentially
fatal condition, which is on the rise- just
as the cesarean rate is.
Caesareans
and the Legacy of Fear A UK news article
stands up to the "too posh to push' phenomenon
sweeping the United Kingdom with some sobering
c-section realities.
Deciphering
Your Hospital Records Help for women
trying to understand the cuneiform in their
medical records after birth. (Focus on cesarean
section terminology.)
Marsden Wagner
on the BirthLove Site Marsden Wagner MD,
MSPH is a pediatrician, neonatologist, perinatal
epidimiologist, and former Director of Women's
and Children's Health for the WHO. His page
includes articles about cesarean section.
C-Section Studies and News
VBAC
By LLM:
- My
Passion for (Unassisted) VBAC This
includes the birth story (in part) of my seventh
child, as well as a Q&A about homebirth
fears. Includes links to unassisted VBAC birth
stories.
- VBAC
is better than cut bellies -a letter by
LLM in response to a BMJ article
about vaginal birth after cesarean killing
babies. Note that this letter was published
in the online BMJ.
Midwifery Care for
the VBAC Woman Help for women and their
birth attendants in making safe, beautiful home
VBACs happen. Originally in Midwifery Today
magazine.
What
Every Midwife Should Know about ACOG and VBAC:
Critique of ACOG Practice Bulletin # 5, July
1999, "Vaginal birth after previous cesarean
section" The bulletin that has herded
so many women into the OR is critiqued (and
excellently rebutted) by Marsden Wagner, MD.
VBAC
Petition Created by ICAN
to raise awareness of women's rights to give
birth vaginally after cesarean. VBAC is safe,
gentle and preferable to elective surgery. Sign
the petition- it will be forwarded to those
who can make a difference.
VBAC
Questions for a Care Provider -and optimal
answers. See the same Q&A translated into
Spanish.
Give
Birth Their Way A Los Angeles Times article
says how few women actually are having VBACs
nowadays- 16.5% of U.S. women!- and why OBs
are so loathe to allow VBACs: interests in money,
time and convenience. This also mentions the
danger of cesarean, and the high risk of using
prostaglandins to induce VBAC women.
About
Uterine Ruptures, and the Remarkable Human Uterus.
Wonderful info about how rare uterine rupture
truly is (including in vertical- "Classical"
incisions), and how to strengthen the uterus
during pregnancy- an already remarkably strong
and adaptive muscular organ- making safe, beautiful
home VBACs happen.
How
likely is it that your VBAC uterus will rupture?
by Eileen and Pat Sullivan. Well- you're
actually a lot more likely to win at roulette
or have a doctor who is an imposter than you
are to have your scar rupture in childbirth.
And VBAC moms- avoid Cytotec, Pitocin, and Prostin
like the Plague!!
Gretchen Humphries
on the BirthLove Site Informative, inspiring
and enlightening articles by this mother and
doctor of veterinary medicine. Included: breakdowns
of intimidating-sounding research into lay language,
informed consent for drugs in birth, cesarean
section and uterine scar information, research
that shows that a dad's size has no bearing
on the size of his babies, and the story of
her beautiful home VBAC waterbirth (includes
pictures). Note that quotes from Gretchen are
on this page as well.
Links
VBAC
safety: A closer look at the 2002 JAMA study
by Henci Goer. Excerpted: "Once again,
newspaper articles claim that a study has shown
that elective repeat cesarean is safer for babies
than vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC) (14).
As with the July 2001 study, closer analysis
reveals no such thing (6). What the new study
really shows are the dangers of the first cesarean."
Caesarean
Babies, from the UK Midwifery Archives This
page shows some of what cesareans do to babies.Including
effect on lung function and brain chemistry.
From
Womb to Underworld and Back Again: Healing
Cesarean Section Jeannine Parvati Baker
talks about the rich victory that can come with
ascending from depths of cesarean sadness. For
an article in a similar vein, see The
Body of Birth Victorious as it Lies Dying
by LLM.
Vaginal
Birth and Cesarean Birth and VBAC
after Two or More C-sections -excellent
reference by Kmom (off site links fixed 9/2/01).
Standing
up to the VBAC-lash: A critique of the
New England Journal of Medicine VBAC study and
implications for the future of the medical model
of childbirth, by Jill MacCorkle. Excellent
research; includes links and references.
Women's childbirth deaths
are kept secret; and good reasons to not have
an elective repeat cesarean
From Confessions
of a Dissident by Marsden Wagner, MD:
"Maternal mortality audits and perinatal
audits, in which the deaths of women and babies
are analyzed, are always done in secret committee.
The fact that these committees find a significant
proportion of deaths to have been preventable
and to have resulted from mistakes in clinical
judgment does not usually reach public awareness.
In [my book] Pursuing the Birth Machine I
wrote,
'The fact that caesarean section carries serious
risks for both woman and baby seems to be one
of modern civilization's best-kept secrets.
Why is it that an article in a leading American
obsetrical journal proving that elective repeat
caesarean section has a 6 times higher maternal
mortality than vaginal birth (Pettiti et al.
1982) had no apparent effect on the rapidly
rising caesarean section rate in that country?
Why can a leading medical journal, in all apparent
seriousness, publish an article suggesting that
all birth be caesarean sections (Feldman and
Freidman 1985)?
'Why is it that when the possibility of caesarean
section arises, women are not told as part of
their informed consent that the procedure increases
the chance of their dying and increases the
chance that their baby will have a life-threatening
illness? [1994: 185-186]'"
Relevant Email Lists
- ICAN
The email list for the International Cesarean
Awareness Network.
- Apoyocesareas
-a Spanish language resource.
- HBAC
-homebirth after cesarean support.
- UBAC
-unassisted homebirth after cesarean support.
- BirthRage
Connecting women who have felt pain and want
to grow some power in a friendly, free place.
BirthLove Columns with
Cesarean or VBAC Information
- Of Cesareans
and Bike Rides in Mundy Park (5/12/03) Cycling
can hurt, but- the freedom, strength and health
that comes with it is most certainly worth it.
Just like giving powerful birth! Included: how
the dimensions and pert perkiness of a vulva
is not dictated by the passages of babies!
- Dialogue
with Sarah's Husband about the Pelvic Exam
(3/2/03) Sarah is desperate for an HBAC- a home
vaginal birth after cesarean; her doctor husband
thinks a repeat elective cesarean is the way
to go. Will Sarah assert herself? Will she emerge
victorious, and create the birth of her dreams?
- For Anna:
From the Darkness of Pain, Birth will Emerge
Bright Again (9/25/02) Anna was terribly
hurt in her cesarean; she must know that she
deserves a gentle birth, and that the birth
of her dreams will come true if she uses her
anger and passion as the fuel to generate the
life change needed to make this birth happen.
Included: how my cesarean-born son helped me
in my unassisted homebirth.
- A
Shimmering Band of Moonless Erudition (8/17/02)
How pointless it is to label "things"
such as thought, elements, clouds, moon- all
beautiful things are abstract; including learning.
Also- cesareans are quite invasive, really.
- Talking
with Lynn, Tasting Birth's Future (6/4/02)
Included: VBAC herione Lynn Richards' VBACs,
babies who are meant to die, the shamfeul state
much midwifery is in, and the greatest hope
for birth's future.
- Love
Will Heal the Dark, Fearful River (6/11/02)
Evil forces dictate how birth is given for most
women. Included: my c-section, and a reader
response.
- Overcoming
the Dark Gods of Modern Medicine (7/16/02)
Hysterectomy, labor induction, cesarean section,
episiotomy, hormone replacement therapy- all
these procedures are cornerstones of OB/GYN
practice yet are overwhelmingly bad medicine.
Read this column and be informed.
- Keeping
Power in a Cesarean Delivery (5/6/99) If
a section is geniunely the best way for a woman
to give birth, she should demand and create
the gentlest birth possible.
- Floating
dreamlike is found the answer to love, to life...
(7/16/01) Deep within pregnant women is elemental
beauty and power: the luscious, vibrant force
of Life. This sacred place is not to be desecrated
by gloved hands with knives. Written in response
to a British Medical Journal article.
- Her Doctor
Says (lie down, spread your legs, shut
up, don't question my authority, of course it's
safe...) (5/14/01) What is he telling her
to do?- have another cesarean just because he
"feels" it would be for the best.
And she believes him. Included: how rare uterine
rupture really is, and how one can go from-
"my doctor says" to- "I SAY."
- The
Body of Birth Victorious as it Lies Dying
(4/16/01) The heartbreakingly high cesarean
rate is actually the body of birth dying on
a c-section cross. But don't despair... after
such death comes ascension. (Inspired by the
photos in "Anatomy of a Choice", below).
- "Women
are Dying Needlessly in Childbirth"
(6/29/99) A retort to an OB's ignorance of the
role of modern obstetrics in maternal deaths;
the role has been sometimes fatal.
- Henry’s
Dream I wrote this when
pregnant with my 7th... apologizing to my son
for his sad, sad birth.
- Breech
Tales (8/7/00) Two footling breech birth
stories are told- one unassisted, and one hyper-medically
assisted by cesarean delivery. Decide for yourself
which birth was better managed.
- A
Midwife's Courage
(7/20/99) A midwife stands up to OB tyranny
on an Internet list; she mentions her 100% VBAC
success rate..
- Will
VBAC Become a Way of the Past?
(7/13/99) New guidelines may make elective cesareans
the delivery method of choice for a majority
of doctors; the myth of CPD (cephalopelvic disproportion).
- Rips, Snips
and a Promise (1/16/01) Doctors are finding
that tearing into women's bellies during c-sections
actually helps promote better healing afterwards.
So why not just tear into vaginas instead of
cutting them open with scissors during episiotomies?
- Reminding
the Women of ICAN that they CAN (12/18/00)
Maybe my voice on this email list will help
some women have the births of their dreams.
I hope so...
- Her Doctor
Says (lie down, spread your legs, shut
up, don't question my authority, of course it's
safe...) (5/14/01) What is he telling her
to do?- have another cesarean just because he
"feels" it would be for the best.
And she believes him. Included: how rare uterine
rupture really is, and how one can go from-
"my doctor says" to- "I SAY."
For a full listing of
columns, go here.
|
