Quotes of the Day: Cesareans and False Security

‘The normalising of the operation throughout society has lulled women into a false sense of security. It’s only a matter of time before we have a sharp increase in maternal mortality because of Caesarean sections. We are beginning to see it happen already.’

—Dr Sharon Oates, April 2002

Royal Shrewsbury Hospital for which Dr. Oates served as an OB-GYN consultant at the time of this article had a 10.4 percent c-section rate— the lowest in the UK.

“When doctors and mothers assess the risks of Caesareans, they generally only think about what the risks are at that time and ignore the impact they might have five years down the line.”

—Dr. James Walker, Leeds University

[Source]

Hat tip: Joanna Karpasea-Jones, Suite 101
 

       

Comments

[Jill]

A friend of mine told me of a GREAT comment one of her friends made in regard to Cesareans.

"C-sections are like credit cards. Instant gratification, but you pay for it later. And I never carry debt."

I think this is all too true. When the doctor goes home at the end of his shift, the patient ceases to exist. What happens to her a month, six months, a year, two years, five years, ten years down the road is of absolutely no consequence to him. It's horribly unfair that a doctor can do something to a patient and forget about it completely, but it will affect her for the rest of her life.