Friday, December 7, 2007

Assisted Cesarean: Bridging the Hormonal Gap?

I am not sure how I feel about Assisted Cesareans. I guess the proof is in the pudding and if there is a doctor willing to go this far to give a woman a more humanized c-section experience, then I fully support that.

I mean, it is right there, all over her face, how strong the bonding is with this woman and baby



and how different that is contrasted with these cesareans:


Having never had a cesarean, I can't begin to imagine how this view must seem from the perspective of the mother. Looking up at a blue curtain, often restrained because of shaking and the need to protect the sterile field, some tugs and pulls and then suddenly the cry of a baby. Is the cry recognized right away as that of their child? Do we need both the visual and the aural in the first few seconds after birth to recognize our child? Or in fact, do we need the picture, the sound and most importantly the hormonal release in order to instantly identify and protect the child that is ours and ours alone?

Mom up there in the first picture is oozing with love hormones. Mom down below, a little dazed, happy but bewildered. I have seen this look at natural births as well, especially when labor is very fast, but the first touch usually resolves the shock and hormones start flowing. I have also witnessed moms take hours, sometimes days to fully come to terms with the reality of the baby that has been born via c-section. Where is the experiential proof of the birth of this child?

At least if women are able to experience assisted cesareans, they have the proof, there touch has a memory that will last a lifetime.




For a very clear and concise view of women's birth experiences as told through pictures,
It is quite amazing and you can't dispute what is captured on film.






1 comment:

Lisa Barrett said...

I don't know what I think about his. How can you humanise a c/s. Surely it's a life saving procedure so you would assume either the mother or baby is in trouble at the start of the operation.