a thoughtful web.
Good ideas and conversation. No ads, no tracking.   Login or Take a Tour!
comment by kleinbl00
kleinbl00  ·  3209 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: An Increasing Number of American Mothers Are Using Midwives for Their Births

C-section utilization in the United States is related to liability, not laziness. A vaginal birth is an emergent condition - there are lots of things that can go wrong and the negative outcomes associated with them are pretty dire. As a consequence, the chances of litigation go through the roof. Result? When in doubt, cut the baby out.

It's also a misnomer to say that C-sections are easy. Routine I'll give you. A caesarean is a routine surgical procedure and the likelihood of in situ complications is lower than vaginal birth. Because it's a routine operation, the aftercare is likewise routine (but also not easy). Look at it this way: if your choice is to accept a variety of "risk percentage" from zero to twelve, or a solid six every time, your insurance company would much rather you go with the solid six.

Good luck on your studies. My wife has delivered about 300 babies.





thenewgreen  ·  3209 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Also, once a woman has had a c-section, they will have them for their subsequent deliveries as well. This adds to the 1/3rd of all babies statistic that jinxedlinxed used. But yeah, it's all about liability and not about golf.

kleinbl00  ·  3209 days ago  ·  link  ·  

A woman is more likely to have more than one C-section. VBACs aren't crazy, they're just a little uncommon. My wife has done several dozen. Canada and other nations are more liberal about this, and in the US it's a patchwork.

user-inactivated  ·  3209 days ago  ·  link  ·  
This comment has been deleted.
thenewgreen  ·  3209 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Less liability also equals a larger paycheck. Liability is expensive. So, "yes," in that regard it's about retaining and making more money.

Edit: Still, you cite costs, not profits. I would guess that the doctor makes more on the c-section because they are billed as the surgeon, but still there's a big difference between stated costs and stated earnings from a procedure.

I emergency delivered my son at home and until I got to the hospital, it cost me about $20 worth of towels.

user-inactivated  ·  3209 days ago  ·  link  ·  
This comment has been deleted.
jinxedlinxed  ·  3209 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Very true. I suppose I got a little too liberal with some word usage there.

I, myself, will opt for midwives when my time comes (heath permitting, of course) The few midwives I've talked to around my area love that they connect with their ladies more than the OBs do/can.

They are permitted to take on 60 women a year in B.C., that includes prenatal care, birth (home, hospital or birth centre) and up to six weeks of neonatal care (though that load is often shared between the head midwife and a couple part time midwives, the size of birthing centre -or working out of hospitals- changes that number).

But it just makes sense to be able to make a lasting bond, and its a lot easier when there's only a few other women vying for their attention, as opposed to hundreds.

And thank-you. (:

kleinbl00  ·  3209 days ago  ·  link  ·  

It's a sensitive issue because it's very easy for both sides to get their hackles up and stop talking and since my wife straddles the divide between "normal" and "crazy-ass woo" we both tend to get caught in the crossfire rather a lot. She has an OBGYN she relies on a lot (because some planned home births go to the hospital, and it's a good thing, too) who is obnoxiously proud of his sectioning skillz. And why not? He's a surgeon. That shit's baller. But he won't back many midwives in the area because they're antagonistic anti-hospital crazies that see the involvement of conventional maternity care as a failing, rather than a useful life-saving intervention that should be utilized freely.

That 60 is an interesting number. My wife knows two or three midwives that routinely do 10-12 births a month.