The facts of VBAC:
The C-Section Risks:
Cesarean sections are in general unnecessary. They themselves are risks so one thing I wanted to evaluate was the risks of vaginal birth after c-section compaired the risk of c-sections in general. "Cesarean section is a modest risk factor for ectopic pregnancy and an important risk factor for placental problems." (Hemminki) Ectopic pregnancy is when an embryo grows in the wrong area most often resulting in death of embryo. Placental problems include placenta prevue, and abrupt placentae. The risks continue to increase with more cesarian sections. So if all of these symptoms are possible then the argument that VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarian) is a risk to the health of the mother is out ruled. This is because these symptoms sound more dangerous then cesarian sections.
"The overall maternal intra-operativecomplication rate was 14.8%." (Ham)
VBAC RISKS:
The ratio of fulfilled VBAC plans compared to the uterine tare risk demonstrates that doctors must be putting unnecessary pressure on women to have another cesarean section. 60% of women who plan on having a VBAC deliver vaginally. The risk of complication is .9% respectively. This complication is uterine taring. What about the other 40.1%? So 40.1% of women in our country are denied the right to have a natural birth.
IN CONCLUSION:
There are negative results from both abstaining from VBAC and doing them. As demonstrated above, the risks are about even. I by no means am saying that VBACs are the only safe post cesarean section birth, but I am saying that doctors should inform their patients of the benefits of vaginal birth and the risks of cesarean sections. Doctors, understandably, simplify the situation for women. Before the 1980's it was once a C-section always a C-section. There are doctors who recommend vaginal birth after a csarian. But there is nothing in between. There are no doctors who point out the pros and cons of both options. I remember the younger midwife guest speaker saying that people should only tell pregnant women positive birth stories. By putting a sharp divide between the Homeopathic and holistic makes defending an opinion more valuable to medical professionals then the mother and baby's health.
Work cited:
Rubin, Rita. "Study backs natural birth after C-section." USA TODAY 6/29/2006, Print
"VBAC with Uterine Rupture - Our Story." sitearts (2000): n. pag. Web. 4 Apr 2011. <http://www.sitearts.com/rupture/>.
"Vaginal birth after Cesarean (VBAC) rate." Northwastern Memorial Hospital (1010): n. pag. Web. 4 Apr 2011. <http://www.nmh.org/nm/quality+vaginal+birth+after+cesarean+rate>.
Evans, Joel. The whole pregnancy hand book. New York, NY: Gotham books, 2005. 484. Print.
Hemminki, Elina. "Long-term effects of cesarean sections: Ectopic pregnancies and placental problems." American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology (1995): n. pag. Web. 8 Apr 2011. <http://www.ajog.org/article/S0002-9378(96)70608-7/abstract>.
"baby." google. Web. 8 Apr 2011. <http://29.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_liz7p8LlbM1qengdjo1_400.jpg>.
Sarah,
ReplyDeleteIn your project you decided to research about the risks of VBACs and a mother doing a C-Section every time she gives birth. You used a lot of statistics to back up your main idea and successfully informed the reader (me) on what the risks are of a VBAC and “once a C-Section, always a C-Section”.
I liked that you focused on something that is extremely controversial which drew me in when I started reading your blog post. I also liked that you used many statistical evidence to argue the risks and advantages of both VBACs and C-Section-every-time deliveries. Your project is important to me because it informed me on subjects I had little prior knowledge about. Now I will be able to argue with “educated” folk about which is more dangerous.
To make your project better, I would make it clearer as to what VBAC stands for. You mentioned it in the post, but I don’t think it was clear enough. I knew what it meant because I read Tina Cassidy’s “Birth” but the common people might be confused or lost and as what the common people do when they are confused, they stop. You don’t want your reader to stop reading your paper or read your entire paper while confused.
All in all, a good post. An advice for the next project you do; try and do something experiential so you feel as if you are physically active with your project instead of just doing it for a class grade.
It's a very interesting topic Sarah. Your blog informed me of something I know very little about. I have several friends who have had c-section deliveries for their first children and they were encouraged to c-section for all other births. This would have been in the 1980's.
ReplyDeleteI think to make your project better it would be good to know statistics of all labor in comparison to VBAC births, as well as the mortality rate of children born c-section, VBAC and vaginal births.
hi sarah,
ReplyDeleteyour post puts c-sections and VBACs in perspective for an audience who hasn't yet taken the course.
i thought your use of evidence was especially persuasive. i also think that presenting the risks of VBACs gives the reader a more full educated perspective.
i agree with abdullah that it was courageous to approach a controversial and "underground" topic. it would have been particularly interesting to me if you had possibility obtained an interview from a women or family that had undergone a VBAC.
it was a pleasure reading your post - amanda
For Abdullah,
ReplyDeletethank you for commenting. I appreciate the critique and will keep it in mind for my next project.
For martha (mom),
Thank you for commenting. If you want more statistics on general birth I recommend looking at the book Birth by tina Cassidy. Or just the appendix of it. It has tuns of statistics that you may find interesting.
For amanda,
After receiving your comment i decided it would be good to try to find a mom who had had multiple cesarians. I found a blog about a women who had attempted a VBAC and a story in a book about a woman who had gone through a VBAC. It would have made my project stronger to include these in my project
Thank you all for the advice!!