Compartment 14B

The outdated birth canal. 2007-10-26 - 11:39 a.m. Dr. Hubris�s love of the scientific and the modern have been surmised and mentioned by me before on this site (I�ll leave it to you to google the entries if you�re interested). It did therefore not surprise me that he is a veritable cheerleader for the repeat c-section. He may currently function as a reproductive endocrinologist, but he used to practice obstetrics and has some mighty strong opinions on c-sections� namely that they are good. When he and I got into a brief discussion on whether I�d choose to request a repeat c-section, he alluded to a �major study� that will be coming out soon that examines the issue of elective cesareans, and hinted that the study will give the thumbs-up to the concept. When I mentioned that the increased rate of repeat c�s may have something to do with malpractice insurance problems, he shook his head and uttered darkly, �Uterine rupture.� He even went so far as to hint that the vag may soon be considered an outdated and inferior passageway out of the womb, almost a vestigial organ (my actual words, not his in this case), if you will. Okay, I think the man�s got a load of hooey in his head about c-sections, particularly as they pertain to elective c�s for first-time deliveries. I cannot imagine that a huge increase in the number of women having major abdominal surgery when they don�t medically need to is a good thing. If vaginal birth was as dangerous and �inferior� as he seems to think, we wouldn�t be around as a species. Yes, childbirth is dangerous and certainly it used to be far more so than it is now, but to suggest that absolutely everyone get sliced open seems a bit looney to me, and that certainly was the impression he gave. As said before though, no decision will be made without talking to the obstetrician I�ll be getting referred to (whom I�m wildly curious to meet). And I certainly won�t be swayed by Dr. Hubris�s parting sideways slice gesture and his sotto voce �Go for the section. Don�t feel guilty.� that accompanied it. I know he means well, but I think we just have different philosophies on birth and medicine in general. Before - After All content � Shawna 2003-2010 That means no swiping my stuff - text, images, etc. - without asking. P.S. If you're emailing me, replace the [at] with @ in the "to" line. Oh, and if you put the word "journal" in the subject line it'll have a better chance of making it past my junk mail filters. recommend me HTML and design help by Jo hosted by Diaryland