How to have a healthy and natural pregnancy in spite of your gynaecologist . (Part 4)

by Christo Lues

Why it may be a good thing to get a C-section.

Also read; Part1, Part2, Part3

Gathering from the feedback I had on part 3, the issue of to have or not to have a c-section is a very contentious  and emotionally loaded issue. You often run the risk, that when you point out some uncomfortable facts or statistics, that people who had a different experience will overreact. Such was the case with part 3. 

It was not, and still is not my intention to condemn or make anyone feel guilty about the course they took with the arrival of their new baby, yet the facts still stand. If you don’t like something someone says it does not change the facts and you may end up feeling guilty, for what ever reason, although you may feel uncomfortable reading it.

Often we need to have our boat rocked a little to get a fresh perspective or new insight into seemingly clear cut issues. 

One of the main reasons I started the article was to inform young and often totally misinformed first time mothers about the risks involved in getting c-sections. My experience is that most young first time mothers are prone to believe that their bodies will not be able to cope with the natural birth of a baby, that natural birth is more painful than a c-section and that because most women these days get c-sections, it seems like the way to go. 

My aim is to get mothers away from the "Pregnancy is a condition" mindset to "Pregnancy is a natural phenomenon of life"

"When mothers doubt, 

intervention follows."

So does this mean that a c-section is always bad? NO! 

What the above means is that the majority of time c-sections are not medically indicated but that the high incidence of c-sections are because of ulterior motives like money and fear, where it should make up less than 10% of the total birthing procedures, like in state run hospitals here and in the UK!

Caesarian sections has saved thousands of babies’ and mothers’ lives over many years, and it will continue to do so in the future.

As much as there are great health risks to getting a c-section, there may be risks in isolated cases in not getting one. 

The following medical conditions are valid reasons for a cesarean:

Chronic maternal illness - diabetes, kidney or heart disease or other life-threatening conditions.

Pre-eclampsia - in certain cases where the mother has very high blood pressure a cesarean may be required

Prolapsed cord - this is where the cord is presenting first and could be compressed and diminish blood flow to the baby, which would put the baby at risk.

Certain types of placenta previa at term - where the placenta is low lying and partially or completely covers the cervix and could result in hemorrhage. In the case of a marginal placenta previa, a vaginal birth may still be an option.

Placenta abruptia - this refers to a situation where the placenta detaches from the uterus. This may result in the baby receiving too little oxygen and so a cesarean may be needed.

Uterine rupture - if the uterus tears, the mother will hemorrhage and the baby may be oxygen-deprived so an emergency cesarean would be necessary

Initial outbreak of active herpes at the onset of labor - to prevent the baby being infected in the birth canal a cesarean would be advised

True fetal distress during labor and birth will cause the baby not to receive enough oxygen so an emergency cesarean would be needed

Certain positions (presentations) of the baby may require a cesarean e.g. transverse lie at full dilation, brow presentation etc.

Previous classical cesarean, where there was a longitudinal cut in the uterus

True cases of cephalo-pelvic disproportion may result in the need for a cesarean

Multiple births - certain presentations may require a cesarean, but most often twins and triplets can be safely birthed vaginally too

The above examples will in many cases save the lives of the mother or the baby or both. The fact though is, that some of the issues discussed in part 3, still sands and measures should be taken to avoid them.

Some conditions I have mentioned in Part 3 follow, with some remedies that may aid, if you have experienced some of the following procedures.

Organ failure

Minimize the risks of organ failure in your newborn (after having taken heavy pain killing drugs etc. during an un-natural delivery) by drinking lots of clean water. This will not only aid your dehydrated body, but will help in faster elimination of toxins from your body. You can use certain natural liver remedies to help the liver get rid of the toxins faster. Take organ protective supplements like Omega SLO, B-Vitamins and  antioxidants.

Baby jaundice may arise a few days after birth, this is usually nothing serious, and can be aided by the breastfeeding mother taking some natural Liver tonics. I recommend Liver Detox by Sevenpointfive, failing that, Baldocinaro from A. Vogel. The MOTHER take these, and it gets to baby via breast milk.

Developmental problems

Keep a close eye on your young child and if some abnormalities does arrive, have it looked at by a competent educational professional. In this case I have had great experience with brain balancing.

Also make sure to feed your child a good diet, free from sugar, and other neurotoxic substances like MSG, Nitrates and wheat. These will amplify the problem quite a bit. 

Give your child supplements like Coral Calcium, Mindset and Omega SLO to help the brain reach it’s optimal potential.

Breastfeeding

Speak to mothers that has breast-fed many babies or speak to your midwife. The biggest issue here is perseverance, and because of what I have discussed in part 3, you may need more than other, mothers.

One of the most common mistakes I have seen mothers make, is that they do not drink enough clean water. I once heard of a doctor who told a mother that the amount of water she drinks has nothing to do with how much milk she is able to produce! Ludicrous! Make sure to drink in the order of 4L of KDF filtered water per day - preferably with Ionic Coral Calcium in the water. 

Take a good strong multivitamin like Solgar or Viridian. I prefer Mindset, as most mothers need the extra mind power to help her cope better. 

Omega 3 is ESSENTIAL as the building blocks of hormones to help in milk production. I prefer Omega SLO because it contains Alcoxyglycerols and Squaline that is naturally found in mothers milk. Taking this not only aids in the production of milk, it also helps restore the mother’s body.

If the mother is overwhelmed by the new baby and visitors, she may stress too much, get too little sleep and breast milk may decrease. Make sure you sleep when your baby sleep, so you can be awake when baby awake.

If your milk is still not enough, you may try supplementing on Fenugreek capsules, aiding greatly in increasing milk supply.

Intestinal health of the baby

Because an estimated 80% of the body’s immune system resides in the gut, it’s of paramount importance that the gut of the baby function optimally. As baby missed the natural bacteria in the vaginal birth canal on her way out, it’s wise to supplement it afterwards. I have found ABC Dophilus from Solgar to be the most effective. Give about one bottle (about a month to six week supply) and see how baby is doing. If the stools are normal, and baby does not have cramps etc you may be in the clear. Read more about colic and food here... 

Depression

As discussed in part 3, depression or a feeling of being totally overwhelmed by the arrival of a newborn can happen to any mother. For this reason I always give new mothers the essential brain formula: Mindset and Omega SLO . These have proven effective in almost all cases of depression, stress or anxiety. 

Make sure you get some exercise like walking. Also make sure you get some direct sunlight. The vitamin D is essential to a healthy mind AND body.

Some excellent reading found here...

In the last and final part (5) of this article, I will give attention to what you can do to avoid unwanted intervention. 

How to have a healthy and natural pregnancy in spite of your gynaecologist . (Part 3)

by Christo Lues

So, what is wrong with getting a c-section?

Also read:

Part 1 "What is a Natural pregnancy?"

Part 2 "What is an Un-Natural pregnancy?"

This section is NOT applicable to lifesaving absolute emergency c-sections, this section is about elective or otherwise considered, unnecessary c-sections.

When asked of side effects of a c-section, the gynaecologist will have to think really hard to conjure up any side effects. In his mind there is simply no side effects, apart from a little discomfort by the mother - but for that there is ‘medication’.

If we take a closer look there seems to be more than meets the eye at first. 

As a start, consider the fact that c-section is not a small procedure, but rather a MAJOR surgical procedure!

Doctors create an incision to deliver your baby by C-section. This incision takes up to six weeks to heal. It's also prone to infections. Contact your doctor if you notice pus around the incision, or if you develop a sudden fever. Because many of your strong tummy muscles are cut through, it is very painful and you may have difficulty holding your baby in the correct position, making mothering and more importantly, breastfeeding challenging or impossible. You would generally not be able to drive for six weeks after your operation, as the muscles repair.

A further complication from the operation is the cut through the uterus wall. Although it heals perfectly in healthy woman (like a broken arm would) most doctors won’t “allow” you to have a Vaginal Birth After Cesarian (VBAC). The reason, they argue, is that because it was once cut, it’s not strong enough to withstand contractions of a next birth. It’s like saying you are not allowed to pick up something heavy with an arm after it was broken (and now healed) Statistics in this regard indicate the opposite. Studies have shown that uterine rupture is more prevalent amongst first time mothers than mothers that has already had a previous c-section. But the point is, if you had a c-Section, and you do want a normal birth afterwards, you enter a serious battle zone. Secondly, from here on your doctor will decide FOR you how many children you will have - it will not be your decision anymore. So depending on how well your womb has healed, in the doctors opinion, he will decide on how many more future c-sections he will ‘allow’.

Organ failure

When the mother is sedated for the c-section, various complications can arise. Because of the pain from the c-section wound the mother needs pain medication after the operation. This leads to the strong drugs like Pethedine or Morphine getting into the baby via the breast milk. Studies have shown a link between the use of these drugs and kidney, liver and heart failure in newborns and the ingestion of Morphine. Everything that you as a mother ingests ends up in the breast milk and thus in your baby. Are you comfortable giving schedule 6 & 7 drugs to your newborn? Also keep in mind, that your baby is likely to have neonatal jaundice because of either being born too early or if a lot of bruising occurred during the birth - the liver normally deals with this. If you take the drugs mentioned, it also needs to be broken down in the already taxed liver of the newborn.

Developmental problems.

Even for infants born full-term, a little more time in the womb may matter.

The extra time results in more brain development, and a study suggests perhaps better scores on academic tests, too.

Full-term is generally between 37 weeks and 41 weeks; newborns born before 37 weeks are called premature and are known to face increased chances for health and developmental problems. The children in the study were all full-term, and the vast majority did fine on third-grade math and reading tests. 

The differences were small, but the study found that more kids born at 37 or 38 weeks did poorly than did kids born even a week or two later.

The researchers and other experts said the results suggest that the definition of prematurity should be reconsidered.

The findings also raise questions about hastening childbirth by scheduling cesarean deliveries for convenience - because women are tired of being pregnant or doctors are busy - rather than for medical reasons, the researchers say. More...

So then developmental problems are associated with pre-term babies. Most gynecologists will NOT allow a mother to go full term, as they will run the ‘risk’ of going into spontaneous labour. Remember that the doctor wants to avoid this natural process in 80% of the cases.

Can you see the relationship between the masses of youngsters on Ritalin for learning disabilities and the rate of c-sections, yet?

Breastfeeding

Then because the mother is partially or fully sedated by the epidural or the general anesthetic after the operation, while she is being closed up and on her way to the recovery room, the baby is separated from the mother. 

The very important initial skin to skin contact is lost and the initial immediate latching on the breast of the mother is lost.

The baby is force fead some sugar water or formula milk and stored in a noisy impersonal incubator, for later retrieval. Talk about a brutal welcome to the world!

When the baby is reunited with the mother, she may struggle to recognize the mother and have difficulty latching onto the breast of the mother. The success of breastfeeding all depends on how quickly baby can be on the breast after birth.  Within the first 30 minutes baby’s sucking is strongest and weakens from there on. After an hour you have almost lost it. On top of that the body will naturally increase the production of Oxytocin, the breastfeeding hormones, around 40-41 weeks, which ensures that everything is ready for breastfeeding. When the mother receives a C-section, either because she was induced (because her own hormonal levels were not high enough yet or baby was not ready to be born to start natural contractions) and the induction fails, or because of a scheduled c-section, the hormones for breastfeeding are also not at the maximum levels. Add to that the first thing that was shoved down baby’s mouth was a rubber teat and the drugs the Mother took with the C-section, which also sedates baby and it is no surprise that 95% of all young mothers struggle to breastfeed their babies! If the mother is not guided correctly by a midwife or breastfeeding expert (usually not a sister or doctor) the breastfeeding may be a road of torment or will be abandoned for formula milk. The mother and baby miss out on yet another wonderful natural, heathy bonding gift.

If the mother does succeed with breastfeeding, the nurse will tell the mother to breastfeed for 5 minutes on every breast and that baby has then had enough. If baby is not picking up weight or is constantly hungry, a formula will be advised, as the mother’s milk is ‘not strong enough’. If baby cries, shove a dummy in the mouth, a nasty habit that will be difficult to kick and may result in changing the shape of the baby’s mouth, resulting in orthodontic problems in puberty. This is all completely wrong!!

Rather breastfeed on ONE breast until it is completely empty for about a two hour duration, using the breast as a natural pacifier for the baby. With the next feeding give baby the other full breast. This will result in the one breast getting a resting and recovering time and will help to avoid sore nipples. Also when one breast is completely emptied, baby will get the fore milk (watery to quench the thirst) and the strong after milk to feed baby and make her grow healthy. Read more on breastfeeding on Linnie’s BLOG

Intestinal health of baby

Increased Risk of Disease in Baby.

California Watch reports that there is some indication that a C-section birth increases a baby's chances of developing asthma, allergies or Type 1 diabetes, probably because it is not exposed to the good bacteria in the mother's vagina.

When the baby is born via the normal vaginal birth canal, natural bacteria that lives in the vagina is ingested by the baby. When the bacteria reach the baby’s intestines, the seed is planted for colonizing the baby’s own strands of healthy bacteria in the intestine, resulting in a healthy strong immune system. Full colonization is estimated at around six weeks. It is further estimated that up to 80% of the body’s immune system resides in the gut.

This is of not the case when a baby is born via c-section. Ever noticed that everything is sterile in an operating theatre? Well, this means that the baby missed out on the bacterial meal it was supposed to ingest on the way into the world. The gut is thus not colonized as designed, and the immune system is compromised.  The gut of a c-section baby can take six months or longer to colonize with the correct bacteria, and some times never, where a supplemental probiotic needs to be administered. 

In most cases parents decides to sow seeds of disease into their children’s bodies by way of vaccinations. I will not elaborate on the dangers of vaccinations here, as this is not the scope of this article. I have covered it extensively elsewhere. Suffice to say that it has the ability to bring extreme harm to the little body. Because the gut was not colonized properly at birth this means that the gut lining is not formed properly. Introducing the toxins contained in the vaccines, further damages the gut and it’s permeability. This may result in strange health issues, like reflux, eczema, glue ear, severe constipation, diarrhea, colic, cramps, sinus or reoccurring respiratory tract infections. No doctor I know of will ever relay these back to the c-section birth, rather an arsenal of drugs will follow for these diseases of ‘unknown origin’. 

To aid the recovery of your baby’s gut you can give ABC Dophilus by Solgar.

Postpartum depression

Although any woman can fall depressed after the birth of a child, it seems to be more prevalent under mothers that had a recent c-section. The mother did not expect to have a c-section, feels cheated or inferior because she was unable to give birth naturally, giving rise to feeling down and depressed. The reason on both accounts are that the mother’s body is depleted or lacking in essential building blocks for the hormones needed to veer off depression in a new, unfamiliar, stressful stage of taking care of a helpless human being. What could however make it more prevalent in c-section mothers is that during the different birthing stages, various hormones are secreted by the mother’s body to help her body adapt for the birth, in particular the hormone oxytocin. In a c-section this never happens, because the Mother and baby’s body didn’t release enough ‘birth’ hormones and depression may result afterwards.

Breastfeeding stimulates the secretion of oxytocin. Oxytocin is also called the ‘love’ or ‘motherly’ hormone. As discussed earlier with breastfeeding, there may not be enough Oxytocin and a lack thereof may be implicated as one of the causes in the onset of postpartum depression. This would naturally be worsened if the mother does not breastfeed, or due to what we mentioned above, struggles to breastfeed.

Postpartum bleeding

Breastfeeding the baby straight after birth results in the release of the hormone oxytocin. This makes the uterus contract. In fact the mother will experience ‘contraction’ pains for days after the birth of the baby due to the oxytocin release during breastfeeding and this helps the uterus contract back to its pre-conception size. Again, if breastfeeding is not successful the young mother may bleed excessively after the birth. Because the uterus was cut, this is even more painful.

These are only some of the reasons we think c-sections are not great!
If you would like to read about more pros and cons of c-sections go here...

Also read:

Part 1 "What is a Natural pregnancy?"

Part 2 "What is an Un-Natural pregnancy?"
Part 3 "Why it may be a good thing to get a C-section"

In Part 4, I will talk about: “What if complications DO arise, what to do?”

How to have a healthy and natural pregnancy in spite of your gynaecologist. (Part 2)

by Christo Lues

What is an un-natural pregnancy

Well as you’ve probably guessed by now, an un-natural pregnancy is more or less the opposite of what you have read in Part 1. Unnatural pregnancy is where unnecessary intervention is allowed by the mother or taken by a medical professional, deeming the natural flow of pregnancy or birth ineffective or dangerous.

In this case the mother will suspect that she is pregnant, because she has just recently come off a contraceptive and has missed her expected monthly cycle. She may do a home pregnancy test, but will not trust it, so she pops down to the doctor to have it confirmed by an expert. The doctor will prescribe folic acid and may tell her that nothing else (like vitamins and herbs) should be taken during pregnancy, as this can be dangerous - folic acid is all that is needed…

From the GP, the mother will go to a gynaecologist for more ‘professional assistance’ during her pregnancy. The assault on the infant begins with the invasive ultrasound. In order to check that everything is on track, the gynaecologist will do regular ultrasound scans, from as early as 6 or 8 weeks. Every time the mother visits the doctor he will do an ultrasound and may even do internal/vaginal examinations to ‘check’ if she is doing OK.

In 2004 the FDA warned: "ultrasound is a form of energy, and even at low levels, laboratory studies have shown it can produce physical effect in tissue, such as jarring vibrations and a rise in temperature." These temperature increases can cause birth defects and result in central nervous system damage. A large randomized trial conducted by the RADIUS Study Group found the use of ultrasound did not result in improved outcome in pregnancies.

Learn more here...

Because of the internal examination the mother may have bleeding the same day or the next day. Because she is really concerned, she will phone the doctor and explain the bleeding. The doctor will want to see her and may do another ultrasound scan or a follow-up internal examination to see if there is any problem. If the baby is still alive after this poking and video game session the bleeding may stop after a day or two. 

It may also happen that because of her higher progesterone levels that the young lady has an elevated sexual desire, leading to more frequent intercourse. Because her body goes through many hormonal changes, her vaginal wall may be richer in blood supply and during intercourse some of the tiny delicate blood vessels may naturally rupture, resulting in light pink discharge. 

When she discovers this the next morning, the above doctor procedure will possibly be repeated.

The gynaecologist will suggest various tests to be carried out on the unborn baby and the mother. One of which is an amniocentesis. 

Wikipedia: Amniocentesis (also referred to as amniotic fluid test or AFT) is a medical procedure used in prenatal diagnosis of chromosomal abnormalities and fetal infections, in which a small amount of amniotic fluid, which contains fetal tissues, is sampled from the amnion or amniotic sac surrounding a developing fetus, and the fetal DNA is examined for genetic abnormalities.

This will show a (statistical) possibility of Downs syndrome. Apart from the fact that many NORMAL pregnancies (babies) have been terminated (murdered) by the actions following the inaccuracy of the test, it carries many other known risks:

Wikipedia: Amniocentesis is performed between the 15th and 20th week of pregnancy; performing this test earlier may result in fetal injury.[8] The term "early amniocentesis" is sometimes used to describe use of the process between weeks 11 and 13.[9]

Complications of amniocentesis include preterm labor and delivery, respiratory distress, postural deformities, fetal trauma and alloimmunisation of the mother (rhesus disease). Studies from the 1970s originally estimated the risk of amniocentesis-related miscarriage at around 1 in 200 (0.5%).[10] Three more recent studies from 2000-2006 estimated the procedure-related pregnancy loss at 0.6-0.86%. [11] A more recent study (2006) has indicated this may actually be much lower, perhaps as low as 1 in 1,600 (0.06%). [12]. Unlike the previous studies, the number in this study only reflects the loss that resulted from amniocentesis complications and excluded the cases when parents decided for an abortion following the test results.[11] In contrast to amniocentesis, the risk of miscarriage from chorionic villus sampling (CVS) is believed to be approximately 1 in 100, although CVS may be done up to four weeks earlier, and may be preferable if the possibility of genetic defects is thought to be higher.[13]

Amniotic fluid embolism has been described as a possible risk.

If none of the above happens and the brave mother decides to keep the (possibly) Downs baby, she may be overcome with worry, fear and uncertainty for the rest of the remaining pregnancy, stealing her joy of being pregnant. It should be stated that before doing the test, you should think through what you will do with the (mostly inaccurate) results, after the test is done. Put differently, if you are pro life, what is your rational for doing a test to tell you whether your baby is normal or abnormal and should be aborted.

On paper this looks really simple, but it is an entirely different scenario that plays off in the doctor’s rooms. The mother may be put under so much pressure by the ‘well meaning’ doctor that she will give in to doing the test, possibly resulting in one or more of the above (fatal for the baby) side effects.

I have seen a mother literally go insane after she struggled to fall pregnant for many years, then fell pregnant, only to abort her perfectly normal baby due to the inaccurate statistical probability of the child being Downs with the amniocentesis!

Next in line is a test the ‘caring’ doctor would like to do by taking a sample from your cervix to determine if you have some ‘dangerous’ streptococcus bacteria living in your vagina. Group B streptococci colonize the vagina, gastrointestinal tract, and the upper respiratory tract of healthy humans. It is an invasive encapsulated organism capable of producing disease in immunocompromised hosts, like any of the more or less 400 other bacteria found in the human digestive tract, vagina, mouth, throat etc. Young and middle-aged women who undergo obstetrical and gynecological manipulation are at an increased risk of group B streptococcal infection. If this is found you will be put onto strong antibiotics during labour, to ‘protect’ your baby from your dangerous vagina. 

To put this in perspective, if you are a healthy woman, having a natural birth without the doctor performing unnecessary invasive procedures (that will release or disturb the Strep B) you are safe.

So lets assume that you and your unborn baby survived the numerous ultrasounds, the amniocentesis, the Strep test and any other tests or procedures your health professional conjures up, next is your regular checkups in the last trimester of pregnancy.

Nothing can go wrong from here on, right? Your doctor told you that he/she is for natural births…the problem is that the gynaecologists‘ understanding of a natural birth is probably quite different from yours.  Your battle for a natural delivery, if you wished to have one has just begun!

In South Africa, if you go to a private gynaecologist, you have a 80%+ chance of getting a Caesarian section. If you are at a state hospital you have a 5% chance of getting a Caesarian section. In the UK where the NHS pays for medical costs, you have a 5% chance of getting a Caesarian section. Why? Is it because when you go private that you are more sickly or conversely healthy mothers go to state hospitals? Or is it just a matter of  mothers with bigger babies go private and mothers with small babies go the government route? Does not sound logical, does it?

In general the cost of a normal delivery at a Government hospital, if you are a normal person that can pay would be around R10 000. 

When you go private for a birth (95% certainty a C-section) the cost is around R40 000, depending on what hospital you attend. Compare this to around R6000 for a home birth with a midwife. 

So, do you think there may be a financial incentive for doing a c-section vs a normal delivery? Do you think there may be a financial incentive to ‘knock’ midwifes, natural births or home births? Incase you missed it YES! It’s WAY more lucrative to do a c-section than a normal delivery, and it’s way easier for a gynaecologist so ‘schedule’ your c-section into his busy program than an unpredictable normal delivery that may take many hours longer.

So when your private gynecologist tells you he or she is PRO-natural birth, you should be aware that as your pregnancy progress, points of concern will arise that, according to your gynecologist, will make a natural birth almost impossible.

As your pregnancy develops, the gynecologist will want to see you at regular intervals to ‘check’ that everything is normal, doing more ultra sound scans and internal examinations.

His talks about a natural birth will start fading as you near the end of your pregnancy. 

He will start using words like: “Your baby seems a bit bigger than expected” or “You have a healthy big baby, it would take some pushing to get it out” or “Lets do a pelvic estimation” this means that he guesses that your pelvis is too small and that even if you wanted to, the baby won’t fit through your pelvis.

This will leave the young and ignorant mother with seeds of doubt about a natural delivery. In time the doctor will reinforce his initial premise. He will now use words like: “Way too big” or “may get stuck” or “high risk delivery”. If the young mother is brave and dare resist him, he will change tactics. The husband is next. What husband wants to put his wife’s life in danger - none! So the gynecologist will appeal to the man’s natural sense of protection over his wife and may use words like: “Natural delivery will endanger your wife’s life, and possibly that of the baby” or “As a father you may have to make a logical choice for safety” the father will now (subtly) start siding with the doctor for the ‘safety’ of his family.

On the next visit and closer to term the doctor will use words like: “The placenta is starting to calcify and we need to act soon” or the doctor may take the exited mother’s blood pressure and find it slightly elevated. In this case he may then admit the mother to the maternity ward and start inducing the labour - to ‘save’ her life of course. 

Because the baby is not ready to be born yet, the induction will usually fail, resulting in an “emergency c-section”.

It may also happen that the doctor ‘allow’ the mother to try for a natural birth, but only on his terms. This means the doctor will say: “We have your safety at heart and for that reason you absolutely cannot go past a certain time” this ‘time’ is in some cases one to two weeks before the real expected date of the baby. If the mother does not go into spontaneous labour by her ultrasound calculated expected date,  a c-section is scheduled. Ultra sound scans calculate the birth date by the size of the baby and the size is just an estimation and not very accurate. The chance of the mother going into spontaneous labour is slim taking in account the stress she is now under to go into labour by a given time, and stress inhibits labour hormones - (Read more on Linnie’s BLOG), so the doctor gets his way anyway, but the mother buys the augmented truth that it was the only ‘safe’ alternative and that she had to have a c-section.

One other scenario is that the doctor allows the young mother to go into labour, but the moment it happens puts her on her back on a bed, on a fetal monitor and gives an epidural for pain free delivery. An epidural can be given for the pain - numbing the body, thereby making pushing virtually impossible. The down side is that the mother lies on her back and does not have gravity to help get baby out - a c-section may result. Alternatively an instrument delivery with an accompanying episiotomy may result - unnecessary pain for the mother and possible trauma for the baby.

There is no end to how the truth will be twisted, so it suffice to say that the “well meaning gynaecologist” will do his utmost best to get the woman in for a c-section, he profits, the hospital profits and the costs are covered by the medical aid - every body is happy.

The young mother has lost out on something wonderful that was intended for her and her baby.  Some of the motivating factors why so many c-sections are performed includes fear of litigation over complications in delivery, fear of the unknown, personal schedules, simple lack of knowledge and sadly, money.

In Part 3, I will talk about what’s wrong with getting a c-section.