Originally Posted by Hoppapotamus

I love that Robin has such a thirst for this sort of knowledge. I don't know much about babies and birth, as I don't plan to have any children, but some of my favorite topics to study are human sexuality, sex psychology, and reproduction.

Originally Posted by Robin Frolic

It should be, yes. Unfortunately, 25-30% of babies in North America are now delivered via c-section. Many of those cesareans occur as a direct result of complications caused by routine hospital interventions. You go into a hospital to have a baby, you have a 1 in 4 chance of having major abdominal surgery.

For the record, the World Health Organization says the cesarean rate should NEVER be above 10-15%. And a good midwife often has a cesarean-transfer rate of 5%. So it shows pretty clearly that most cesareans are complete bullshit, and/or are caused by standard hospital practice.

This used to upset me, but I don't really care that much anymore. I think, "You bought it, you own it." If you choose to have a surgeon (obstetricians are surgeons) for your caregiver, and you choose to give birth in a place where you know the chance is 1 in 4 you will get cut, then that's your own choice.



Yes, both for that pregnancy and for future pregnancies. Cesarean birth is four times more dangerous than vaginal birth, and chances of uterine rupture (literally, the uterus splitting open, which is a life-threatening condition) is doubled for future pregnancies. Risk of placenta previa (placenta covering the cervix, requiring repeat cesarean) is four times as high in future pregnancies, secondary infertility can be a serious problem, and placental abruption (where the placenta detaches from the uterus, which is also life-threatening for the baby and also can be for the mother due to hemorrhage) is almost doubled in risk for future pregnancies. Rates of babies getting accidentally cut with the scalpel during cesarean deliveries can be as high as 15%, and I'm not even going to address the significantly increased risk of breathing difficulties for the newborn post-birth. And this isn't addressing the risks of epidural anesthesia (always used for cesarean births unless it's an emergency, in which case general anesthetic is sometimes used, and that's even riskier) or the narcotics post-birth. And don't forget significantly longer recovery time after the birth, long-term nerve and muscle damage, uterine scarring, increased rates of difficulty establishing breastfeeding, difficulty caring for the newborn due to pain, etc.

That's just a very short list of why cesareans are a terrible idea except in emergencies, and why it's a terrible idea to have so many hospital procedures that increase the risk of causing an emergency. (Going into more detail about hospital procedures causing emergencies would be a long post all by itself, but if anyone's interested, I'm more than happy to do so.)

Originally Posted by Hoppapotamus

Having children is a huge decision, and shrugging it off like it's no big deal really bothers me.

Originally Posted by Kandifox

HOLY CRAP Robin.....
You know your stuff O.O

Originally Posted by Robin Frolic

I couldn't agree with you more. People who seem to think it's similar to, say, getting a cat drive me insane.

Originally Posted by XxLuVBuGxX

Originally Posted by Robin Frolic

And in a return of the thread to the original intent, I'm going to post a picture I found a few days ago of Frolic and I back in 1998.



Aw, we look so little.

Originally Posted by Robin Frolic

Yeah, Gavin lies down next to Foo (while Foo is peacefully asleep) and then tries to roll over him. Foo is, needless to say, not impressed.

Originally Posted by XxLuVBuGxX

aww so cute!
in 1998, i was 6-7 years old. xD

Originally Posted by Robin Frolic

*feels old*

In 1998 I was 18 and Chris was 24.