Understanding the Dangers of Cesarean Birth: Making Informed Decisions

by Nicette Jukelevics

Overview

Cesarean delivery - childbirth through an incision in the mother's lower abdomen - is now the most common major surgical procedure performed in the United States. No one argues over the fact that it can be a life-saving procedure when the baby or mother is at risk. But for almost three decades in this nation, cesarean deliveries have increased, without substantially better outcomes for babies or mothers. Experts warn that up to 50 percent of the more than 1 million C-sections performed here each year are unnecessary. And that is where Nicette Jukelevics, a certified childbirth educator, researcher and writer, steps in with this book. Jukelevics aims to give women the insights they need to make an informed decision about whether natural or C-section birth is best for them and their babies. She explains when C-sections are necessary, and when they are not needed. She also addresses the overuse and misuse of medical procedures that can complicate labor and lead to C-sections, as well as reasons doctors may support or suggest C-sections, including outdated medical information, fear of liability, and economic advantages measured in doctors' time.

This work also examines midwifery practices shown to safely reduce cesarean deliveries, but ignored or resisted by hospitals. Understanding the Dangers of Cesarean Birth will interest not only expectant and future parents, but also to students and scholars of women's health, nursing, and public health.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780275999063
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	09/30/2008
Series:	The Praeger Series on Contemporary Health and Living
Pages:	304
Product dimensions:	6.50(w) x 9.30(h) x 1.50(d)

About the Author

Nicette Jukelevics is a Childbirth Educator certified by the International Childbirth Education Association and Co-Founder as well as Parent Educator at the Center for Family in Torrance, California. A childbirth educator and researcher for over 25 years, she is also an experienced doula. Jukelevics served as Chair and Co-Chair of the ICEA's Cesarean Options Committee and Co-Chair of the Coalition for Improving Maternity Services. Her articles have been featured in publications including Mothering Magazine, Childbirth Instructor Magazine, and the International Jourbanal of Childbirth Education. Her VBAC Fact Sheet was included in the Institute for Healthcare Improvement's Reducing Cesarean Section Rates While Maintaining Maternal and Infant Outcomes, Breakthrough Series Guide.

Table of Contents

Series Foreword by Julie Silver, M.D.
Foreword by Charles Mahan, M.D.
Preface
Acknowledgment
List of Abbreviations
Introduction
1. Freefall
2. Nondisclosure: The Missing Information for Making Informed Decisions
3. Patient Choice or Physician Choice Cesareans?
4. Cesarean Section, the Procedure
5. How Safe Are Cesareans?
6. Breaking the Silence: Birth Trauma, Cesareans and Post Traumatic Stress
7. How Does a Cesarean Birth Affect the Baby
8. Im Laboring as Fast as I Can: Prolonged Labor, a Highly Variable Diagnosis
9. Impact of a Cesarean on Future Pregnancy
10. Especially for Mothers: Walk, Rock, Sway, Squat, You Can Help Your Labor to Progress
11. Labor after Cesarean: A Safe Alternative to a Repeat Operation
12. Electronic Fetal Monitoring: More Information Is Not Always Better
13. Breech Version: A Safe Alternative to a Planned Cesarean
14. Elective Induction of Labor: A Risk Factor for Cesarean Delivery
15. Especially for Mothers: Coping with the Pain of Labor
16. Labor Support by Women for Women
17. Giving Birth with Midwives: Excellent Outcomes with Fewer Cesareans
18. Out of Hospital Birth Lowers the Odds for Cesarean Section
19. Especially for Mothers: Reducing the Odds for a Cesarean What To Do during Pregnancy
20. Especially for Mothers: Reducing the Odds for a Cesarean What To Do during Labor and Birth
21. Resources: Truth and Transparency in Maternity Care
22. Why Normal Birth Matters
Glossary
Notes
Bibliography

What People are Saying About This

Christiane Northrup

"This book made me want to stand up and cheer! It's must reading for everyone who is concerned about the health of mothers and babies, and that should be everyone!"

Gretchen Humphries

"Not only is this a well researched and easy to understand work, it also demonstrates quite clearly that the Emperor has no clothes. Obstetrics in the U.S. is broken and the fix will come from women and their families, not the ineffective and self-protecting medical establishment."

Susan Jenkins

"This is a much-needed book, which combines top-notch scholarship with practical advice for the consumers and health professionals who labor (pun intended) in the trenches of the cesarean section battleground. Ms. Jukelevics has made an important contribution to our knowledge base about cesarean section, and has done so in a way that is accessible by the women and families who are confronted with the bewildering and contradictory flood of opinion, and conjecture about this major surgical procedure. I intend to recommend this book, not only to everyone I know in the birth activist community but also to the many women who, in their blogs and online questions, daily express their confusion and distrust regarding their obstetrician's recommendations about c-section and VBAC."

Peggy O'Mara

"Nicettle Jukelevics' Understanding the Dangers of Cesarean Birth is a tour de force. Her exhaustively researched book is just what U.S. women need right now to protect themselves from skyrocketing birth interventions."

Jessica L. Kelly-Shaieb

"Jukelevics has compiled an extensive collection of materials for mothers and health care providers to help curb the disheartening trends in U.S. maternity care today. She should be applauded for her work. This book is both compelling and user-friendly. I recommend it to anyone who is concerned about cesarean rates today and looking to make a difference for themselves or for their clients."

Marsden Wagner

"The present epidemic of unnecessary births by cesarean section in the United States is resulting in dozens and dozens of tragic deaths of women and babies. The only way this shocking excess of unnecessary cesarean section birth can occur is if pregnant women are lied to about the safety and risks of cesarean birth versus normal (vaginal) birth. This book should be required reading of all pregnant women in the U.S. as it uses the best scientific evidence to educate them to all of the reasons to say NO to a cesarean birth unless a serious medical complication exists."

Editorial Reviews

…a groundbreaking exposé of cesarean birth in the United States….Although directed toward expectant parents, Understanding the Dangers of Cesarean Birth is evidence-based, with extensive references that clinicians and scholars will find valuable. Understanding the Dangers of Cesarean Birth will be a valuable addition to the bookshelf of any consumer, health care provider, or scholar who is concerned about the current status of women's health care in the United States.” —Jourbanal of Midwifery and Women's Health

From the Publisher