5 ways to avoid an unnecessary C-section
Photo: iStockphoto
1. Start smart (and early).
Talk to your doctor about optimizing your health, exercising and achieving a healthy weight before trying to conceive. Diabetes, hypertension, obesity and other age-related conditions can increase the likelihood of requiring a C-section.
2. Do your research.
Read, attend prenatal classes and ask lots of questions, even if it seems intimidating. Understanding the benefits and risks of all delivery types can help you make educated decisions when different options are offered.
3. Ask about your hospital?s and doctor?s C-section rates and philosophies.
Low rates may indicate an institution with processes in place to avoid unnecessary surgeries. Individual doctors may not know or share their exact C-section rate, but you should feel comfortable with their overall approach. (Some research suggests that practitioners with high C-section rates tend to have higher episiotomy and fetal-distress rates, too.) Ask about experience with VBAC and vaginal breech birth?associated with fewer complications than you might imagine?and whether your hospital has doctors on the premises or off-site and on call. All of these factors might affect whether you can have a vaginal birth. 4. Consider a midwife or doula.
Both can offer insights, comfort and advocacy when you?re pregnant, in labour or making difficult birth decisions. Jennifer Whiteford, who had a VBAC with her second child, says her doula?s experience with VBACs and the hospital system re...
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