What are the risks of multiple c-section? I wonder if anybody ever mentioned them to Tori Selling.
Everybody seems obsessed with celebrity birth. People accuse Ricki Lake of highhandedly increasing the home birth rate. Everybody talked about Ms Jolie's planned African water birth. Celebrities, though richer and better looking than the rest of us, still get to be judged by their birth choices. And also, sadly, they still can be hurt (even endangered) by the sorry state of current obstetrics and anti-VBAC sentiment.
A few weeks ago we talked about Tori Spelling and how her 4th cesarean section landed her back in the hospital for emergency surgery. It has since been revealed what her re-hospitalization was for. Apparently her "C-section scars burst open" requiring her to return to the hospital.
In addition to revealing why she was re-hospitalized after her birth, Tori also mentioned how difficult this fourth pregnancy was for her. Tori spent four months on bed rest due to placenta previa. Placenta previa is a condition in pregnancy where the placenta grows over the cervix. It can be deadly, as you can imagine, due to the risk of hemorrhage. A full placenta previa eliminates the option of vaginal birth.
As you can image there were lots of nasty comments directed at Ms Spelling following her birth. (Probably because some people are mean and trashy.) People said she had too many babies. People blamed her for the complication because she had her children too close together. People accused her of going back to the hospital just to get a tummy tuck.
You know, I think all of that is kind of disgusting. I have no idea why Ms Spelling had her first cesarean section. There is something I do know though-
She is not responsible for the outrageous c-section rate in this country.
Tori is not to blame of the total LACK of options regarding VBAC for birthing women.
It is not Tori Spelling's fault that she had placenta previa either.
Placenta previa is an incredibly RARE occurrence in your first time mom or in ANY mom. BUT this study found that,
"The rate of placenta previa at second birth for women with vaginal first births was 4.4 per 1000 births, compared to 8.7 per 1000 births for women with CS at first birth."Did you catch that?
Simply having ONE c-section almost doubles your chance of placenta previa. DOUBLES.
What about women who have two or three or more c-sections?
Is anybody talking about the very real and very scary risks of repeat c-section?
We hear a lot about the risks of VBAC. We hear a lot about the risks of home birth. But we stay mum on the subject of the increasing risks of CESAREAN.
It is time we opened out mouths and started talking about this.
It makes me absolutely ill that this mother spent her pregnancy in fear of losing her baby and her own life. And it makes me so sad that this worry and this risk was most likely caused (and certainly increased) by a medical intervention that may or may not have been needed.
How many women are dying because we ignore the risks of cesarean and talk about the risks of VBAC? How many pregnancies are dangerous because we remove the option of VBAC and make c-section look easy, even desirable.
I wish all women healthy and joyful pregnancies. I am so very grateful that we have access to modern medical care WHEN NEEDED. And I hope that we use these interventions when they are NEEDED, and not at other times. I hope that we can stop sacrificing women and babies because we don't want to give them options.
Wishing Tori and her family a joyful and healthy recovery.
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