How the C-section won over city mums

As recently as five years ago, the idea of a woman undergoing a caesarean section was met with trepidation, but today it’s a different story - with an increasing number of mums embracing the big C as just another part of their labour pain.

Even as we observe a trend towards natural births in Europe and the US, in Mumbai, at least, more women are veering towards surgery. A C-section, which was earlier performed only in case of emergency, is now being seen as a convenient form of delivery. According to the New Delhi-based Indian Council of Medical Research, 25 per cent of babies delivered in India are done so using a C-section. Of this number, 18 per cent of the surgeries are elective.

C-sections are usually reserved for cases in which vaginal birth could put the mother’s or the baby’s life at risk. But there’s a sea change in this outlook, and the procedure is now considered to be safer than a normal delivery. “No one wants to take chances; even doctors want to be more cautious. In most vaginal deliveries, some element of risk is involved," says Dr Mohan Gadam, obstetrician, gynaecologist, and consultant at Cooper and Nanavati Hospitals.

Women, too, have become a lot more comfortable with having a C-section, and many prefer it to natural birth. Divya Merchant, who had a C-section recently, says, “My baby was big and the head was not engaged in the pelvic region. The doctor said we could wait, but we did not want to take the risk and so opted for a C-section."

The healing time required is minimal. As Divya says, “I was walking the day after the caesarean, and I was discharged on the third day. The surgery was neatly done. The mark is not very visible, and I can still wear my low-rise jeans."

Earlier, where C-sections were only done in cases of prolonged labour, foetal distress, uterine rupture, placental problems and other emergencies, today they are being carried out even without adequate medical reason. Doctors even cite examples of parents opting for a C-section in order to deliver a child at an auspicious day and time.

Ante-natal consultant, Sonali Shivlani, attributes this growing trend to the fact that the number of births per person is dropping. “Parents want doctors to do their best. They want them to make sure everything goes right and many parents are more comfortable if it is all pre-planned."

Women with previous C-section deliveries are often advised to opt for the procedure for subsequent deliveries. Dr Duru Shah, medical director of GynaecWorld and a consultant at Breach Candy Hospital, has also observed the increasing popularity of C-sections among city women.

“We detect problems much earlier and more easily. With improving technology, the cardiogram of the unborn child can be monitored. Decreased blood supply, an odd position, or any other small problem can easily be detected. And patients as well as doctors want to be on the safer side," she says. “But personally, I would recommend a woman without complications to go in for a normal delivery."

While most medical practitioners have accepted that C-sections are popular, they insist that they support normal deliveries. In case a mother wants to opt for a C-section to avoid labour pains, an epidural anaesthesia is recommended.

The concept of a caesarean is as old as civilisation itself. In Greek mythology, the first C-section was performed by Apollo, on his lover Coronis. And then there was Shakespeare’s MacDuff who was “from his mother’s womb untimely ripp’d".

In the US, with the rise in natural home births, midwifery has become a viable and lucrative career option. In this respect, Matrika, a Delhi-based NGO, attempts to preserve the traditional Indian birth knowledge by promoting traditional midwives and disseminating the knowledge they have.

But for now, the C-section is the new ‘natural birth’
s_surekha@dnaindia.net