Too Posh to Push
(and now for something totally different)
Too posh to push?
Britney Spears Federline has had her baby by cesarean-section, and I heard that she announced ahead of time it was a scheduled, and since it was her first birth, I presume elective, c-section. Wouldn't surprise me if she had an abdominoplasty at the same time. What a sorry state of affairs ACOG (American College of Gynecologists) has gotten us into.
Here's the story of another celebrity birth from the September 5th issue of People magazine:
With the exception of a sudden aversion to red meat and yellow mustard, singer Michelle Branch says her pregnancy "was so easy. I was never sick. I felt great." The delivery itself was another story. After enduring 19 hours of labor, Branch underwent an emergency C-section because her infant daughter's heart rate was slowing down. "Once the anesthesiologist came in, I was like a different person," she says. "I said, 'I'm going to name the baby after you.'" Instead Branch, 22, and her husband, bandmate Teddy Landau, 41, settled on the "tomboyish" name of Owen Isabelle. "To have her come in the world and already have something scare you," says Branch, "I was just so relieved that she was okay."
After spending an extra five days at the hospital to treat a case of ileus, an intestinal ailment that's common following abdominal surgery, Branch returned to her L.A. home with Owen Isabelle…
First off, why does the author have to use the word "enduring" to describe labor? Wouldn't it be enough just to say "labored?" This only contributes to the common misconception that birth is an excruciating experience.
Not having access to Ms. Branch's medical records and not being a medical professional, I can't tell you whether this C-section was due to fetal distress or continuous electronic fetal monitoring. Continuous EFM is known risk factor for C-section. A slowing of the heart rate during contractions is normal, and continuous EFM is a defensive medical practice that too often results in the unnecessary surgical delivery of completely healthy babies. Sounds like this mother could have used more labor support and less technology.
Furthermore, Ms. Branch's experience demonstrates the negative consequences of C-sections, among them trauma for the mother and post-surgical infection. Do you think that five days of hospitalization might have a negative impact on mother-baby bonding? Studies show that anesthesia during birth affects the baby's interest and ability to suck. Separation that causes a delay of only a few hours before the first effective nursing results in reduced milk consumption and reduced milk supply that may continue throughout the entire nursing experience.
Ms. Branch will most likely face these same complications for future births since ACOG revised their guidelines on VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean) that a physician must be immediately available for any woman undergoing a trial of labor after a previous cesarean. I'm not even going to get started on how just the phrase "trial of labor" already implies a lack of confidence in the mother's ability to birth. Many hospitals do not have continually staffed operating rooms and refuse to allow VBAC's, though there are ways around this for the determined mother. (see www.ican-online.org)
So now we have a situation where the medical establishment allows a woman to choose major abdominal surgery without medical indication, but prevents her from choosing natural childbirth after cesarean. Britney stands to influence countless young women that elective C-section is the way to go. If my almost forty-year-old soft body can push out two children, then surely Britney's twenty-three-year-old athletically fit body could at least give it a go. I think we need an alternative slogan to "too posh to push." Too privileged to procreate? Too bratty to breed? Too spoiled to spawn? Too powerful for a primary elective cesarean? Help me out here!
Too posh to push?
Britney Spears Federline has had her baby by cesarean-section, and I heard that she announced ahead of time it was a scheduled, and since it was her first birth, I presume elective, c-section. Wouldn't surprise me if she had an abdominoplasty at the same time. What a sorry state of affairs ACOG (American College of Gynecologists) has gotten us into.
Here's the story of another celebrity birth from the September 5th issue of People magazine:
With the exception of a sudden aversion to red meat and yellow mustard, singer Michelle Branch says her pregnancy "was so easy. I was never sick. I felt great." The delivery itself was another story. After enduring 19 hours of labor, Branch underwent an emergency C-section because her infant daughter's heart rate was slowing down. "Once the anesthesiologist came in, I was like a different person," she says. "I said, 'I'm going to name the baby after you.'" Instead Branch, 22, and her husband, bandmate Teddy Landau, 41, settled on the "tomboyish" name of Owen Isabelle. "To have her come in the world and already have something scare you," says Branch, "I was just so relieved that she was okay."
After spending an extra five days at the hospital to treat a case of ileus, an intestinal ailment that's common following abdominal surgery, Branch returned to her L.A. home with Owen Isabelle…
First off, why does the author have to use the word "enduring" to describe labor? Wouldn't it be enough just to say "labored?" This only contributes to the common misconception that birth is an excruciating experience.
Not having access to Ms. Branch's medical records and not being a medical professional, I can't tell you whether this C-section was due to fetal distress or continuous electronic fetal monitoring. Continuous EFM is known risk factor for C-section. A slowing of the heart rate during contractions is normal, and continuous EFM is a defensive medical practice that too often results in the unnecessary surgical delivery of completely healthy babies. Sounds like this mother could have used more labor support and less technology.
Furthermore, Ms. Branch's experience demonstrates the negative consequences of C-sections, among them trauma for the mother and post-surgical infection. Do you think that five days of hospitalization might have a negative impact on mother-baby bonding? Studies show that anesthesia during birth affects the baby's interest and ability to suck. Separation that causes a delay of only a few hours before the first effective nursing results in reduced milk consumption and reduced milk supply that may continue throughout the entire nursing experience.
Ms. Branch will most likely face these same complications for future births since ACOG revised their guidelines on VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean) that a physician must be immediately available for any woman undergoing a trial of labor after a previous cesarean. I'm not even going to get started on how just the phrase "trial of labor" already implies a lack of confidence in the mother's ability to birth. Many hospitals do not have continually staffed operating rooms and refuse to allow VBAC's, though there are ways around this for the determined mother. (see www.ican-online.org)
So now we have a situation where the medical establishment allows a woman to choose major abdominal surgery without medical indication, but prevents her from choosing natural childbirth after cesarean. Britney stands to influence countless young women that elective C-section is the way to go. If my almost forty-year-old soft body can push out two children, then surely Britney's twenty-three-year-old athletically fit body could at least give it a go. I think we need an alternative slogan to "too posh to push." Too privileged to procreate? Too bratty to breed? Too spoiled to spawn? Too powerful for a primary elective cesarean? Help me out here!
posted by Mary Joan | 12:14 PM
3 Comments:
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
While I do not know their medical histories either or what influenced them to opt for a c-section rather than going through natural birth. It could be a "fashion trend" as most things are among the celebrities. If one does it, then they all have too. Or it could be as in Briteny's case she either could/can not handle pain or she may be to narrow in the birth cannel to deliver a baby. Twenty-five years ago I had been examined for my first child and the doctor had told me that I was need to be checked for just that.
That may be true that Ms. Branch could have used more labor support. However I cannot say that she could have used less technology. If it had not been for technology the nurses who attended me during my second labor would not have known that my blood pressure was going in the fatal zone and that my daughter's heart rate was dropping rapidly. This was not due to the fact of having a monitor, for it was not on me that long (around five minutes before the danger starting happening). It was due to the fact that the cord was wrapped around her neck. Which may have been in Ms. Branch's case as well. Or it could be that her baby was stuck in the birth cannel and that cased the baby's heart rate to drop. Such was the case of my sister-in-law. For her first child she had opt for the whole natural thing (home birthing and all that). However when she did go into labor, she was in it for around twenty hours or so. Luckily for her and her son the birthing center was right close to the hospital. They ended up rushing her there and had come to find out that his heart rate was dropping too and that he was stuck on her tail bone. They had to push him back up and out of her through a c-section.
Thank you for your comments, Tarlyng. Nice to have you drop by.
I don't know any more specific details about Michelle Branch's birth other than what People magazine reported. It may have very well been an emergency. All I know is the 28% C-section rate in this country is out of control. When I see reasons given for surgical delivery such as "failure to progress," "fetal heart rate," or "cephalo-pelvic disproportion," red flags go up. These are often signs of a lack of understanding of normal birth processes and defensive medical practice meant to avoid lawsuits, not provide better outcomes. It is a known fact that continuous fetal monitoring does not produce better outcomes and leads to false alarms and higher rates of surgical delivery. Note that I am referring to continous EFM, not intermittent EFM or the use of a fetascope, a kind of stethoscope to check fetal heart tones. As for cephalo-pelvic disproportion, this is often misdiagnosed. The bones of the pelvis and the baby's head are made up of plates connected by soft cartilage, not solid bone, and they can move and adjust during birth. As a mother nears her due date, her joints will loosen in preparation for the birth, increasing her flexibility.
As for Britney, yes, she was afraid. She was quoted in an article on MSN Online as saying that her mother's birth experiences were "excruciating." But the answer to fear is not to knock yourself out and take a knife to your belly. The answer to fear is education, support, and encouragement. All too often mothers want to share their horror stories of birth experiences, when what the pregnant woman really needs to hear are positive, encouraging, confidence-building stories.
I am not judging Michelle Branch. I am just making some general comments about obstetrical care based on the minimum amount of information in her story. Others may have similar anecdotes, but I don't think we should base health care on anecdotal evidence. We should base it on facts and the scientific review of outcomes to determine best care practices.
On the other hand, I am judging Britney Spears. I didn't have a whole lot of respect for Britney Spears before I read about her birth. I think she is a conceited, spoiled little trollop, and she's trash for marrying someone who's girlfriend was pregnant with his child. She puts herself our there as a sex symbol and yet she's afraid to realize her ultimate sexual fulfillment. I think she's a coward.
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