Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Article: "Cesarean Sections Linked to Future Birth Risks"

I was really surprised and quite impressed to find this article the feature story on our local newspaper's website!

"Cesarean Sections Linked to Future Birth Risks"

Generally I have noticed that mainstream publications tend to feature articles that either praise the cesarean epidemic or attempt to excuse it or hem and haw over the dangers of cesarean birth. This was, for the most part, right on!

Here is the story that opens the article:

"Flagstaff mom Jody Borrero was only five weeks along in her pregnancy when doctors told her something had gone awry.

"An ultrasound confirmed her placenta had implanted itself at the bottom of her uterus, across her cervix. What's worse, it also had attached itself too deeply, perforating the uterine wall and invading her bladder.

"Borrero's physicians at St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center kept her stable for as long as they could. But on Feb. 2, they were forced to deliver Ethan Jr. nearly four months early.

"He's still struggling to survive, and his 28-year-old mother, who hemorrhaged during the delivery, can no longer bear children.

Borrero's conditions, called placenta previa and placenta accreta, are both still relatively rare.

"But physicians say they're turning up in more women, and medical experts believe the trend is tied to record numbers of moms-to-be delivering their children via Cesarean section.

"C-sections, in which a baby is delivered via an incision made through the abdominal wall, leave a scar on the uterus. It now appears that scar is a key risk factor for the complication in subsequent pregnancies, physicians say.

"Many women are unaware of the danger, however.

"'I wanted to have four children, so after the first one was born by Cesarean, I knew I was going to have lots of C-sections," Borrero said. "I thought it would be fine. It wasn't. It's devastating.'"

I was completely impressed with this article! It is rare to find an article so honest and forthright, especially in a non-natural-birth publication. Check it out!

3 comments:

  1. Wow! That is impressive and a pretty good article, too.

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  2. Thank you for sharing this. This is yet another reason why Dr's should be more supportive of VBACs!

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  3. Diana- Thanks for your comment on my blog! I'll definitely be reading yours! Always fun to find another AZ birth junkie! :-)

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