Caesareans are not the easy way out!

If this post triggers trauma or sadness about your birth experience, please seek the support you need. There are brilliant organisations working in the space of perinatal mental health offering a range of services. PANDA,Birth Trauma & Birth Talk are some examples.

A caesarean section is an operation where a baby is born through an incision made through the mother’s abdomen and the uterus (RANZCOG 2016). A caesarean may be planned or unplanned (emergency) if health problems arise for you or your baby making it the safest choice for birthing your baby. 

Australia has one of the highest c-section rates in the world climbing to around 32% of births, or roughly two-thirds. This is despite the WHO recommendations that c-section rates should be around 10-15% and only performed when medically necessary. 

 Why?

There are a few things to explore here but the topic has varying opinions and is often full of emotion. This article @BellyBelly gives us some possible insights. The truth is caesareans are not the easy way out and carry longer recovery times, significant risks, and complications for future pregnancies. 

I sincerely hope that the 32% of women birthing via c-sections in Australia were deemed medically necessary but the sceptic in me says that there would be cases where it wasn’t medically indicated. In these cases, the women could have and should have had a different birth outcome. Read more on this issue in my post – ‘Birth is not just about the cervix’.

The overuse of caesarean sections in low-risk women where not medically required exposes more women and babies to the potential harms of caesarean with minimal likelihood of beneficial outcomes for mother and baby. This not only includes the physical effects of major surgery for mother and baby but a series of downstream effects such as potential psychosocial consequences for mother, increased likelihood in the development of childhood illness and complications in any subsequent pregnancies.

I do think we have to stop normalising c-sections. A c-section is major abdominal surgery. I don’t know of many major operations where less than 24 hours after going ‘under the knife’ you are hurled out of bed and sent to walk, shower and start caring for newborn baby.

I urge every pregnant mama to be informed. Know your rights and know the risks and benefits of caesarean so you can assess whether a c-section is truly the safest and healthiest way to birth your baby. 

If you want read more about the risks and benefits of a c-section, you can find more useful information at this link. This paper ‘What Every Pregnancy Woman Needs to Know About Caesarean Section’ is also useful guidance. It is worth noting that this paper is based on a rigorous review of the research evidence, more information on this review can be found here: “Vaginal or Caesarean Birth: What is At Stake for Women and Babies: A Best Evidence Review”.