About Time!

Newspaper: Portland hospitals to halt scheduled births - FOX 12 - KPTV - Portland News, Weather and Sports


I saw this on FB this morning and thought, it's about time. In the article, it states:

"An agreement by several Portland-area hospitalscould impact when pregnant women give birth.

The Portland Tribune reports that all 17 area hospitals say they're halting elective induction and C-sections before 39 weeks starting Sept. 1.

Pregnant women often want to schedule births to make them more convenient for out-of-town family members.

But the decision was made based on new research that shows babies born before 39 weeks are two to three times more likely to be admitted to intensive care, as well as have trouble breathing."

Since we have moved to Oregon, I have found myself more and more of the "crunchy" type. Cloth diapering, midwives, natural labor. But I've always had the opinion that c-sections and inductions were a bad thing. Don't get me wrong, if it is medically needed, I'm all for it. But even then, there are still a high risk that the child born before they are ready to come out will have medical problems. That's something that the parents should be aware of. Instead of getting upset over the fact that they now can't have the c-section at 39, 38 or even 37 weeks, think of it as a way to protect your baby. Make sure that they are healthy and ready to be born!

I have known too many mothers that are induced, or had c-sections at 39 weeks or less. And about half have had some sort of crisis with their child, that has landed them back into the hospital. So, was it really that urgent to get that baby out?

I have given birth with all my kids at 39 weeks. BUT I have naturally gone into labor and have been blessed to have perfectly healthy children. At the same time, I know of mothers that had to have a c-section because they have to, but it's not medically needed, and they have had to dash back to the hospital because of one problem or another, and their child is only a few weeks old. Wouldn't it have been better to "cook" that baby a little bit longer and have that c-section or induction once you started early labor? That way, you know that your baby is ready to be born. And not you or a doctor saying that they could come out now. Just because you are at 39 weeks, doesn't mean that that baby is done growing. And remember, that at 39 weeks, really, your baby is only at 37 weeks.

All I'm trying to say, and probably haven't said it very well, that this is a great step forward in protecting an unborn baby for unnecessary harm. Just because we can do something, doesn't mean we should. In a culture that wants everything now, I don't think that should apply to impatient mothers that can't be inconvenienced by going into labor naturally! It's no wonder why the United States has the highest mortality rates for mothers and babies in an industrialized country. There is a reason why the BABY trigers labor, and not the mother.