HELPING OUR SONS AND DAUGHTERS TO LEARN NORMAL BIRTH:
Recently, USA Today (http://www.storknet.com/cubbies/csections/news-risingcsectionrate.htm) ran an article that showed how American women's C-section rates have climbed from 25%-27% in just the past few years. More and more, the women in America are not just having the surgery for emergency situations at the time of labor and birth, but now it is becoming more and more popular to ELECT a Caesarean and bypass the whole labor altogether.
Of course, the doctors LOVE this (at least the greedy ones) because it's more expensive to cut a baby out of it's mother's womb.There is more down-time in the hospital, so the hospital makes out. You need anesthesia, so the anesthesiologist makes out. It's convenient for mom...she gets to pick when the baby will emerge.....and so everyone is just so happy! Or are they?
Let's look at the specific drawbacks about having an elective Caesarean Section:
1) Outside of an emergency situation, C-Sections deprive a baby of the normal stimulation that primes the baby's respiratory system at birth.
Normally, a baby is squeezed gently but firmly through the birth canal. It's kind of a 'massaging' action with each contraction that helps to push out mucous and amniotic fluid out of the child's respiratory system. Without this, the baby is very open to respiratory distress...especially when it is not a first time C-section for mom. (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=7081331&dopt=Abstract)
2) To the mother, C-sections can pause a real threat to proper early breastfeeding and childcare. Ceasarean section is MAJOR ABDOMINAL SURGERY! It poses all the same dangers as when anybody goes under a surgeon's knife. There is risk of infection, punctures and nicks to organs outside of the general area being operated on, most importantly, there is the possibility that the mother will not be able to 'bond' with her little one properly due to pain in healing (MORE DRUGS!) and exhaustion. Also the natural process is bypassed and so the whole set of hormones that trigger lactation and feelings of 'motherliness' are not switched-on in the normal manner if at all, which causes stress on baby and mom.
3) Another reason to shy away from elective C-sections is the anesthetic. An average baby that weighs about 7 lbs. within the mother's womb at delivery time is exposed to enough anesthesia to deaden his mother's pain sensors during the operation. That means that this tiny person will experience close to the same amount of drug that his average 140+ lb. mom is given. What does this mean? A newborn can be born with RDS due to depression of the respiratory system from the drug mom was given, it also may be unable to wake easily to eat and that can put a real damper on early nursing and cause mom to become very discouraged with the whole process and give up!
These are simply a VERY few reasons why physically, elective Ceasarean sections are not the best way to bring a new life into the world.
What about the spiritual aspects of normal birth?
As a Christian mother, I have to always be on my guard on how I perceive the world around me and how my reactions will affect my children. If I viewed labor and birth as abnormally dangerous, something that only a "doctor" can manage and do for me, my children would have every right to fear God's gift of procreation as something scary and dark.
So first off, it is important to establish in a mother's heart and mind that children are valuable and a gift from God so that she may instill this ideology into the young ones left in her care.
Secondly, a Christian mother needs to be open to God's planning for her family and not Planned Parenthood or the U.N. If God blesses you with 1 or 10, each one has a purpose that the Lord has already infused into that child if he/she accepts Christ one day.
Ps 127:3 Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward. 4 As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth. 5 Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.
Third, as children get older and ask questions about birth (especially as they see mama's belly swell) they need to know that the day approaches when they will be able to see, touch and hear their baby brother or sister. That is also a good time to begin explaining what it may be like for mama to give birth. Keep it simple, especially if your children are young but don't lie to them. If they are going to have a realistic but positive outlook on the normal process of birth, they need to be told more than "It hurts!" or worse yet...."You don't need to worry about that dear!" and leave their little minds open to every imaginable fear they can muster.
The most important point would be to surround yourself with those that see birth in a normal, scriptural way. I don't believe that God wants a woman's nakedness to be uncovered by another man besides her husband. For this reason, I think if a Christian woman opts to have a 'doctor' oversee her pregnancy, then that doctor needs to be a woman. The best selection though is someone who truly believes in and respects the God-driven process of labor and birth. I don't think a doctor can truly do that nowadays with the rare exception of a very few. They all seem to have protocals that want to 'rush' a baby out of the womb for one silly reason or another and these ideas are all based on fear.
Midwifery is biblical and shows how God has honored midwives even in the days of Moses: Ex 1:20 Therefore God dealt well with the midwives: and the people multiplied, and waxed very mighty. 21 And it came to pass, because the midwives feared God, that he made them houses.
Midwife is a word that simply means 'with woman'. Any woman can be a midwife and help a friend or relative bring a baby in. Of course it helps to have training and know how to deal in an emergency but these are skills that can be easily taught to any woman who has the desire. The main thing is that whoever is going to help you birth needs to know the Lord personally and be in prayer for you and your child.
Another important point about using a midwife is that a midwife, especially an experienced one can help you in ways that are more natural (herbal tinctures, homeopathy, position changes,etc.) and know many little tricks of the trade that can keep you from the hospital and give you a healthy outcome.
Putting into practice the will of God will make you a better parent and instill true values into your child that hopefully, they themselves will put into use someday.
I love the look people get on their face when they ask me "are all these yours?" when they see us all together....I usually reply ,"most of them...there are 2 more that have grown (a total of 8) ". They usually say something ignorant like "Oh, you poor woman!" to which I reply "why?" Most of the time, they don't know what to say after that question and try to back peddle..."well.I guess that's great if that is what you want!" I always use that opportunity then to witness and tell folks what a Blessing my children are and how the Lord blessed me with all of them. Usually at that point, they really feel kind of embarrassed....but I understand. They are merely reacting as the world has programmed them. I hope I made a dent in their way of thinking.
Recently, USA Today (http://www.storknet.com/cubbies/csections/news-risingcsectionrate.htm) ran an article that showed how American women's C-section rates have climbed from 25%-27% in just the past few years. More and more, the women in America are not just having the surgery for emergency situations at the time of labor and birth, but now it is becoming more and more popular to ELECT a Caesarean and bypass the whole labor altogether.
Of course, the doctors LOVE this (at least the greedy ones) because it's more expensive to cut a baby out of it's mother's womb.There is more down-time in the hospital, so the hospital makes out. You need anesthesia, so the anesthesiologist makes out. It's convenient for mom...she gets to pick when the baby will emerge.....and so everyone is just so happy! Or are they?
Let's look at the specific drawbacks about having an elective Caesarean Section:
1) Outside of an emergency situation, C-Sections deprive a baby of the normal stimulation that primes the baby's respiratory system at birth.
Normally, a baby is squeezed gently but firmly through the birth canal. It's kind of a 'massaging' action with each contraction that helps to push out mucous and amniotic fluid out of the child's respiratory system. Without this, the baby is very open to respiratory distress...especially when it is not a first time C-section for mom. (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=7081331&dopt=Abstract)
2) To the mother, C-sections can pause a real threat to proper early breastfeeding and childcare. Ceasarean section is MAJOR ABDOMINAL SURGERY! It poses all the same dangers as when anybody goes under a surgeon's knife. There is risk of infection, punctures and nicks to organs outside of the general area being operated on, most importantly, there is the possibility that the mother will not be able to 'bond' with her little one properly due to pain in healing (MORE DRUGS!) and exhaustion. Also the natural process is bypassed and so the whole set of hormones that trigger lactation and feelings of 'motherliness' are not switched-on in the normal manner if at all, which causes stress on baby and mom.
3) Another reason to shy away from elective C-sections is the anesthetic. An average baby that weighs about 7 lbs. within the mother's womb at delivery time is exposed to enough anesthesia to deaden his mother's pain sensors during the operation. That means that this tiny person will experience close to the same amount of drug that his average 140+ lb. mom is given. What does this mean? A newborn can be born with RDS due to depression of the respiratory system from the drug mom was given, it also may be unable to wake easily to eat and that can put a real damper on early nursing and cause mom to become very discouraged with the whole process and give up!
These are simply a VERY few reasons why physically, elective Ceasarean sections are not the best way to bring a new life into the world.
What about the spiritual aspects of normal birth?
As a Christian mother, I have to always be on my guard on how I perceive the world around me and how my reactions will affect my children. If I viewed labor and birth as abnormally dangerous, something that only a "doctor" can manage and do for me, my children would have every right to fear God's gift of procreation as something scary and dark.
So first off, it is important to establish in a mother's heart and mind that children are valuable and a gift from God so that she may instill this ideology into the young ones left in her care.
Secondly, a Christian mother needs to be open to God's planning for her family and not Planned Parenthood or the U.N. If God blesses you with 1 or 10, each one has a purpose that the Lord has already infused into that child if he/she accepts Christ one day.
Ps 127:3 Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward. 4 As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth. 5 Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.
Third, as children get older and ask questions about birth (especially as they see mama's belly swell) they need to know that the day approaches when they will be able to see, touch and hear their baby brother or sister. That is also a good time to begin explaining what it may be like for mama to give birth. Keep it simple, especially if your children are young but don't lie to them. If they are going to have a realistic but positive outlook on the normal process of birth, they need to be told more than "It hurts!" or worse yet...."You don't need to worry about that dear!" and leave their little minds open to every imaginable fear they can muster.
The most important point would be to surround yourself with those that see birth in a normal, scriptural way. I don't believe that God wants a woman's nakedness to be uncovered by another man besides her husband. For this reason, I think if a Christian woman opts to have a 'doctor' oversee her pregnancy, then that doctor needs to be a woman. The best selection though is someone who truly believes in and respects the God-driven process of labor and birth. I don't think a doctor can truly do that nowadays with the rare exception of a very few. They all seem to have protocals that want to 'rush' a baby out of the womb for one silly reason or another and these ideas are all based on fear.
Midwifery is biblical and shows how God has honored midwives even in the days of Moses: Ex 1:20 Therefore God dealt well with the midwives: and the people multiplied, and waxed very mighty. 21 And it came to pass, because the midwives feared God, that he made them houses.
Midwife is a word that simply means 'with woman'. Any woman can be a midwife and help a friend or relative bring a baby in. Of course it helps to have training and know how to deal in an emergency but these are skills that can be easily taught to any woman who has the desire. The main thing is that whoever is going to help you birth needs to know the Lord personally and be in prayer for you and your child.
Another important point about using a midwife is that a midwife, especially an experienced one can help you in ways that are more natural (herbal tinctures, homeopathy, position changes,etc.) and know many little tricks of the trade that can keep you from the hospital and give you a healthy outcome.
Putting into practice the will of God will make you a better parent and instill true values into your child that hopefully, they themselves will put into use someday.
I love the look people get on their face when they ask me "are all these yours?" when they see us all together....I usually reply ,"most of them...there are 2 more that have grown (a total of 8) ". They usually say something ignorant like "Oh, you poor woman!" to which I reply "why?" Most of the time, they don't know what to say after that question and try to back peddle..."well.I guess that's great if that is what you want!" I always use that opportunity then to witness and tell folks what a Blessing my children are and how the Lord blessed me with all of them. Usually at that point, they really feel kind of embarrassed....but I understand. They are merely reacting as the world has programmed them. I hope I made a dent in their way of thinking.
posted by Eileen Slattery | 9:18 PM
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