I am shocked at the c-section rate in the US. Really, the latest report says 1/3 of women have them, regardless of whether they are more likely to have a healthy uncomplicated birth or not.
In my own personal research, I’ve found that c-sections seem to be a doctor’s last resort when labor takes longer than anticipated. When considering this logic, think about how hospitals make money… the more patients, the more $$$. If a mother takes too long in labor, the doctor can schedule a c-section in order to speed up the process (and insure a higher patient turnover rate). I FIND THIS ABSURD.
A c-section is major surgery. I do not understand a doctor telling a mother she needs this kind of surgery when she’s taken only 12 hours of labor. Mind you, that is half a day; that’s a long time to be in pain. However, that can be normal. Some women can take 2, 3, even 4 times longer in labor given Mother Nature the ability to perform to her own time frame. If the baby comes into trouble, of course I can see a c-section being necessary. For instance, my sister couldn’t be born normally because the umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck. Every time my mom had a contraction, my sister’s heart rate would go crazy. Of course this is an emergency! Forcing a mother to stick to a doctor’s schedule does not equal emergency.
Ok, after 12 hours of labor going nowhere I was ready for that C-section. Perhaps if I'd had pain meds thru that stupid petocin I'd have felt differently! That was the main reason I didn't want to be induced in the first place! They said they'd let me wait but after the stress tests it turned out she was low on fluid so it was safer to induce. Ok..I can buy that but then came all the crap that goes along with that. I wish it had gone differently!
So, did they induce labor with the pitocin or did they give that to you after you started?