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The author of this web site is an independant midwife and mother of three caesarean section born children. She lives and works in Geneva, Switzerland.

Strengthened by her personal experience and many professional courses, over the years, the need arose to create a place to share, exchange and inform, first for women in French (www.cesarienne.net since sept 2006). The subject of going through a caesarean is only just coming out of the closet in french speaking countries however there are more and more women concerned by this and their number is increasingly growing everyday, that is why it should be a recognised data and hopefully an alarm signal.  

This site is the fruit of an independant personal labour not receiving any financial support. It is constantly evolving and you too may contribute by sharing your own experience and your wishes.

All pictures have been shot by myself.
Site pour francophones: www.cesarienne.net (open since 2006, nearly 4'000 visitors every month)

Introduction

Caesarean section as a mean of delivering is nowaday getting more and more important. In Switzerland and neighbour countries, in 2008 practically 3 women out of 10 gave birth to their babies with this operation. Those figures are even higher in private clinics (4-5 women out of ten). Important variations of rates of caesareans have been stated according to geographical areas. Even conveniance caesarians without any medical indications, are being caried out.

To certain women, a caesarean will not bring any acceptance issues and can even be liberating, but for others this means of delivery is a lot harder to go through and they might feel it as a failure and this feeling will sometimes persist for many long years.

This site's prime goal is to consider how a woman, child and father go through caesareans. It is important to ponder the impact of caesarean on the three, on the woman's body, on the child, on the risks occurred by the surgery, but also on the obstetrical futur of the woman and the side effects on her health, what are the consequences on our medical systems and on the future of obstetrics in our societies in the long term?

This is also about offering you some paths and means of help to understand, how to physically and psychologically come to terms with a caesarean.

The principle behind a caesarean is to save both mom and baby's lives when a vaginal delivery is ruled out or becomes impossible. There are many different reasons to opt for a caesarean. Sometimes it is decided in advance, sometimes it is a response to a labour complication with variable degrees of emergency. This is an emergency exit door to use in case of danger and we do not argue its absolute necessity and numerous benefits. Besides, one can only praise the progresses of operation techniques and anesthesias to insure everything goes as well as possible from a medical point of view.

However, it is not that difficult to imagine what this surgery can create in terms of stress, anxiety, powerlessly losing control and even fear of death, before the major impact of the medical team, and what about an eventual separation with the new born and the long long recovery.


The world health organisation ( WHO ) recommends between 10 to 15 % caesareans be carried out, including university hospitals that handle a larger number of complicated pregnancies. This advice is still valid today even if it was issued in the eighties. Let's not forget that some scandinavian countries or the Netherlands maintain a 10 % caesarean rate while still obtaining excellent results in terms of mom and baby's health, which are the factors used to justify the means.

If a number of caesareans are inevitable, how do we avoid the excess surgeries beyond the "useless" recommended rates ? How can we avoid new surgeries for the following children ?

Ideally, two trains of thoughts should be parallelling : First the focus should be on how to prevent a caesarian. Next, it will be on what kind of care women and their children are entitled to. From a realistic point of view, we should create a post-caesarian network, because we have every reason to fear that caesarians will only be considerably increasing in the future.

An extreme exemple of this is Brazil whith an almost 80% rate. In this country where caesareans are part of the modern life-style and are carried out systematically to whomever can afford it. A certain view of bodily ideal, and what feminine beauty should be, plus the fear of damaging their genitals by delivering vaginally led to this evolution.

We are living a very pivotal moment in the history of delivering : We may be considering pregnancy and birth too highly risky and today's women no longer able to perform vaginal birth. In that case, abdominal surgery may be viewed as the only way to avoid all vaginal delivery ailments. On the other hand, we might want to reconsider our position towards this evolution by leaving women enough time and space, along with the necessary privacy and confidence to bring their children into the world. Caesarean sections will always keep serving as an indispensable emergency exit.

This reflection should however include every single aspect of the medical omnipresence around pregnancy and delivery. First and foremost, future parents should be aware that a child is not to be confused with a consomation product which comes with a user guide, a garanty and an after sale service. Even a battery of tests, check ups and echographies taken during pregnancy cannot garanty the safe arrival of the perfect baby, what they can do however is to create anxiety and worries while one awaits the " verdict " of results.

A woman runs into her pregnant friend, she asks : "How are the future mom and her baby ?" The friend answers :
"I have no idea, I won't see my gynecologist before next week."

How sad it is, that our wellbeing can only be expressed through medical examinations and specialists opinions. It is so very important to maintain our own standards and to be able to trust our own judgment. To become a parent, to be a parent is a responsability that requires human qualities such as gentleness, generosity, character, patience, confidence and perseverance.

The manner in which a child is brought into the world is a crucial moment that is not to be neglected or treated lightly, it is well worth pondering in order to make an informed decision. This will only be the start of a long process, the briging up of children, which will demand the parents make choices or decisions every day for the good of their children ... and their own.

 

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