Obesity & Childbirth Fatalities

Ena · 09-01-2007, 11:18 PM

An Article from AOL about the risks of childbirth being Obese and having C-sections.

http://news.aol.com/story/ar/_a/chil...00010000000001

Miss Vickie · 09-02-2007, 12:27 PM

The timing of this is apropos, given that my niece almost died two days ago of a hemorrhage after a cesarean.

She's okay now, but it was touch and go and she was given eight units of blood. Very scary stuff. She's still in the ICU, and we're not sure when she'll be out. And yeah, she's a thin, healthy, active young woman and this is her first baby. She had no risk factors, and yet she almost died.

As they say in the article, the increase in cesareans is certainly a huge part of the problem. Sadly, I meet women all the time who request cesareans because they're tired of labor, or don't want to be pregnant anymore, etc. They treat it like having a dental filling, when it can be potentially dangerous. This has gotten worse since the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists came out against VBAC's (vaginal birth after cesarean) because there is a slightly increased risk of a uterine rupture. So that means that even MORE women are having cesareans, which again increases the risk.

I'd like to see a decrease in cesareans because I think that would improve our mortality statistics both for moms and babies. But culturally I don't see that happening any time soon, given all the factors at play. But the weight part of it? Sure it's a factor but I think part of it is the knee jerk reaction of a lot of docs in treating a larger woman; they pretty much treat her as a complication waiting to happen, which I think doesn't help give quality care.

The whole thing is unfortunate; it makes me really sad that our infant mortality rate is so high, given the technology that is available to us.

09-01-2007, 11:18 PM	#1
Ena Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Arizona Posts: 35	Obesity & Childbirth Fatalities An Article from AOL about the risks of childbirth being Obese and having C-sections. http://news.aol.com/story/ar/_a/chil...00010000000001

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09-02-2007, 12:27 PM	#2
Miss Vickie Executive Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 8,951	The timing of this is apropos, given that my niece almost died two days ago of a hemorrhage after a cesarean. She's okay now, but it was touch and go and she was given eight units of blood. Very scary stuff. She's still in the ICU, and we're not sure when she'll be out. And yeah, she's a thin, healthy, active young woman and this is her first baby. She had no risk factors, and yet she almost died. As they say in the article, the increase in cesareans is certainly a huge part of the problem. Sadly, I meet women all the time who request cesareans because they're tired of labor, or don't want to be pregnant anymore, etc. They treat it like having a dental filling, when it can be potentially dangerous. This has gotten worse since the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists came out against VBAC's (vaginal birth after cesarean) because there is a slightly increased risk of a uterine rupture. So that means that even MORE women are having cesareans, which again increases the risk. I'd like to see a decrease in cesareans because I think that would improve our mortality statistics both for moms and babies. But culturally I don't see that happening any time soon, given all the factors at play. But the weight part of it? Sure it's a factor but I think part of it is the knee jerk reaction of a lot of docs in treating a larger woman; they pretty much treat her as a complication waiting to happen, which I think doesn't help give quality care. The whole thing is unfortunate; it makes me really sad that our infant mortality rate is so high, given the technology that is available to us.