C-sections: Way overdone?

http://www.foxnews.com/health/2012/11/13/amish-offers-clues-to-lowering-us-c-section-rate/



The low-tech approach to delivering babies in one Amish community may offer clues on how to safely reduce the rate of Cesarean-section deliveries in the United States, researchers say.
The study examined 418 Amish women who delivered 927 babies at a birthing center in Southern Wisconsin, a facility that lacked an operating room.
Over a 17-year period, just 4 percent of babies were born by Cesarean section at the birthing center. In the general U.S. population, by contrast, nearly a third of babies are born by C-section.
Despite the low C-section rate among the Amish women, there were few complications: the rate of newborn deaths was 5.4 deaths per 1,000 deliveries, similar to the general U.S. population's rate of 4.5 deaths per 1,000 deliveries, the researchers said. No mothers in the study died.
One of the biggest contributors to the reduced C-section rate was an increase in the percentage of women who gave birth vaginally after previously having a C-section. In the Amish population, the rate was 95 percent, compared with 8 percent in the U.S. as a whole.
Historically, doctors have had concerns that a vaginal birth after a C-section, a so-called VBAC, would increase the risk of a rupture of the uterus. But in the study, no women experienced this complication.
In 2010, the National Institutes of Health recommended that women with previous C-sections attempt, in subsequent pregnancies, to delivery vaginally first, before resorting to a repeat C-section.
This study's findings suggest that following these guidelines could safely reduce C-sections, said study researcher Dr. Lee Dresang, a professor at the University of Wisconsin Department of Family Medicine.
Another contributor to the low C-section rate among the Amish women was that doctors attempted to turn breach-position (feet-first) babies around from outside the mothers' bodies, to permit vaginal delivery. The method succeeded most of the time, Dresang said. In the United States, 92 percent of women whose babies are in the breach position at the end of pregnancy have a C-section.
Amish women generally give birth at home with an unlicensed birth attendant. As a safer alternative for these women, the LaFarge Medical Clinic in Wisconsin developed a birthing center, staffed by a family doctor and midwife. Women were sent to a hospital 20 minutes away from the clinic if it appeared they needed a C-section or other hospital care, but this occurred rarely.
Although the rate of newborn deaths in the study was slightly higher than that of the general population, this was not unanticipated for the Amish population, Dresang said. This is because few Amish women have prenatal care or undergo genetic testing before birth, he said.
The findings show that such birthing centers can deliver babies "almost as safely as people in hospitals do," said Dr. James Ducey, director of Obstetrics and Maternal Fetal Medicine at Staten Island University Hospital, who was not involved in the study. Of the 19 babies who died in the study, only one died of a condition that could have been prevented in a hospital, Ducey said.
The negative effects for mothers that come from performing thousands more C-sections, including an increase in maternal deaths, may outweigh the benefit of saving one extra life, Ducey said. In 2010, a National Institutes of Health analysis showed that 3.8 maternal deaths occurred for every 100,000 VBACs, whereas 13.4 deaths occurred for every 100,000 repeat C-sections.
It is important to note that Amish women known to have high-risk pregnancies were not allowed to give birth at the clinic; they were instead sent to the hospital. Therefore, the rate of C-sections may have been higher if these women were included.
While the researchers said they do not think the C-section rate in the United States could be brought as low as 4 percent, the lessons from the new study may help move the country toward a lower rate, Dresang said."

Do you think that c-sections are used more for convenience than anything else?
Did you have a v-bac? Were you advised against it or turned away because you wanted it?

c sections are deff over used..

its a cycle..
moms in labor.
Oh let giver her pitocin to "speed things up"
pitocin over works the uterus sqeeeeezing the baby putting it in distress, mother goes in for c-section.

just let women birth their damn babies 5ike we have been for thousands of years.. we wouldnt have such a big ass population if we couldnt birth babies naturally...

The article states that there were more deaths of newborns within the Amish community, than with natural births. I am curious if that is compared to only vaginal births for the rest of the population (not Amish), or if that is total births including c-sections?

Because if it's for all births, doesn't this article kind of say that C-sections or no C-sections, we have a lower mortality rate than people who go natural?

Dont get me wrong, I want to go natural and would never want a C-section. Just wondering if the article is skewed.

Are they saying that more people did during repeat c sections then a vbac?

C-sections are definitely WAY overdone. My cousin had one because she got anxiety over the thought of spontaneous labor. My doctor tried to force one on me. I refused. DD was crowning and her heart rate went down. The tried to push her back in and take me in for a c-section. I refused and had her out in 2 pushes. I tore really bad but I got her out faster than an emergency c-section would have been.

I think doctors need to just butt out. They are so worried about something going wrong and being sued that they force all these interventions which makes things worse. I will be doing things way different next time. I want NO interventions. Hopefully, DH will be there so they can't talk me into pitocin again. I was exhausted and it was 4 am. I couldn't feel the contractions but was making progress of 1 cm every 30 minutes. They gave me it because I couldn't feel the contractions.

Quoting Addi's Momma:" C-sections are definitely WAY overdone. My cousin had one because she got anxiety over the thought of ... [snip!] ... the contractions but was making progress of 1 cm every 30 minutes. They gave me it because I couldn't feel the contractions."

dont doctors get more money for a c-section???

with my 1st and 2nd i had pitocin and tried to go natural but by 7cm it was so bad i just wanted an epidural.. i got lucky and had 2 vaginal births with no complications.

my 3rd time i never had abirth plan but let my doctor know i didnt want to be induced be cause they kept telling me i could induce anytime after 39 weeks. and i ended up going in labor naturally at 39 weeks and when i saw my doctor in the hospital i told heri didnt want any pitocin and she made a weird look and said okay..

i was walking around and smiling between contractions that werent THAT bad at 7cm, once my water broke it was on but whent to fast that when an epidural even crossed my mind it was time to push! it was awesome. good luck i hope you get your "intervention" free birth. I wasnt even hooked up to an IV or anything, i just walked around was in the shower and birthing ball and did my own natural thing!

Why do you think doctors are skeptical of those who don't want pitocin or pain meds? Do you think it's because over time we have made birth more of a convenience and they are so busy they want to hurry things along?

Quoting Man. Bear. Pig.:" Why do you think doctors are skeptical of those who don't want pitocin or pain meds? Do you think it's ... [snip!] ... you think it's because over time we have made birth more of a convenience and they are so busy they want to hurry things along?"

of course!

I think there is way too much medical intervention during labor/delivery in our country. While I don't think everyone should be forced to go completely natural (since I personally LOVED my epidurals), I think doctors really need to back off and let the mothers' bodies have a chance. I believe it's the overuse of inductions that creates our high number of c-sections, rather than doctors being patient and not rushing the delivery process so much. Yeah, it's less convenient for them, but it's safer for the mothers and babies.

Quoting ☮ Phuket:" dont doctors get more money for a c-section??? with my 1st and 2nd i had pitocin and tried to ... [snip!] ... even hooked up to an IV or anything, i just walked around was in the shower and birthing ball and did my own natural thing!"

Yup, some c-sections can cost upward of $20,000.

I made it to 5 without feeling anything but pressure. They said that wasn't normal. Confined me to a bed because my water broke and gave me the stupid pitocin which then caused me to need an epi because the pain was horrendous which then caused labor to stall for 10 hours.
Your 3rd birth sounds exactly like what I want. Stress free birthing. Our bodies know what to do.

Quoting ☮ Phuket:" of course! "

I so want to do a midwife/homebirth. My husband is entirely too "by the book" and worried to let me do that. I'm trying to find a birthing center that accepts my insurance at least.Maybe that will be a compromise.

Quoting Man. Bear. Pig.:" I so want to do a midwife/homebirth. My husband is entirely too "by the book" and worried to let me do ... [snip!] ... to let me do that. I'm trying to find a birthing center that accepts my insurance at least.Maybe that will be a compromise."

mine agreed that next birth ( if we ever have another child) can be a homebirth baby..

when i become a surro im hoping to find a family close by who will let me birth at their home or something. we will see... ive had 3 easy births. 1 was all natural and my body did its thing, i think i could do it again!

i plan on becoming a homebirthng midwife someday... im starting at the bottom of the totum pole and hopefully slowly work my way up!

we need to teach our girls that we can do this without doctors : )

you know that they are saying women are "evolving" and becoming less likely to go into labor sponotaniously becuase of the over use of synthetic oxytocin..

scary to think in a hundred years, we will all have c sextions and that would be the "normal"

Alot of women want C-Sections cause they are a bunch of sissies and dont want to be in pain!! LOL..I know a few who did that..

Quoting mamaluvsher4babies:" Alot of women want C-Sections cause they are a bunch of sissies and dont want to be in pain!! LOL..I know a few who did that.."

Yes and I'm sure recovering from a major surgery is a cake walk.  

Quoting Man. Bear. Pig.:" Yes and I'm sure recovering from a major surgery is a cake walk.  "

i have seen people use this excuse.. but thats why i wanted a vaingal birth.. SO MUCH better in recovery. i cant imagine having my stomach muscles sliced in half...gag