
Originally Posted by
Adrenaline
Babys make surfacant in the lungs starting at 24 weeks and lungs are definitely mature by before 35 weeks. Before delivery, birth weight can be accurately estimated by ultrasound, Leopold's, etc. Trust me, when I trained in OB/GYN, I carried around a pregnancy wheel too and calculated an EDC (estimated date of confinement) based on 40 weeks.... but in actuality many babies are born way before that date. Currently, with the rampant diabetes in our population, especially here in California, the babies get WAY too big and many times they induce earlier when the baby is still a more deliverable size.
Remember Lola, 1 in 2 women between the ages of 20 and 49 have urinary incontinence due to vaginal deliveries. There are other associated problems that are beyond vanity such as vaginal and bladder prolapses, anal sphincter dysfunction, etc. There was a recent survey of OB/GYN docs in the U.S., England, Australia, and Canada which showed that in each country around 68& of OB/GYN docs would agree to provide a primary elective c-section. That is not to say that c-section delivery is better than NSVD, however there is literature to support the fact that with 2 or fewer deliveries, long term problems with c-section are less than vaginal deliveries.
There is the theory that as humans progressed from walking on all fours to bipedal ambulation that two major changes happened - increased stress on the lumbar lordosis and also reduced pelvic outlet diameter. Let me tell ya, I have seen MANY women fail to progress in labor and have seen many shoulder/pelvis size mismatches. I agree with you Lola that women have been delivering successfully for thousands of years before modern medicine, but also realize that the incidence of morbidity and mortality in women was substantially higher. Whether it was from endometrial infections, bleeding out, uterine rupture, retained placenta, etc., modern medicine now keeps women healthy and alive through maybe childbirth scenarios that in the past would been catastrophic for mother and baby. Is all this at the expense of a more "natural" childbirthing experience? Perhaps. But when the shit hits the fan, it's nice to have fetal scalp electrodes and intrauterine pressure catheters and a sterile operating room waiting.
On a personal level, some day when my wife and I have our first child, I doubt she will be able to deliver vaginally even if she wanted to. She is 5'4" and 105 pounds.... thin, athletic, with relatively narrow hips. I'm genetically a really big guy... in excellent shape and well over 225 pounds. Heck, my head is basically the size of her torso. In these situations, even with early delivery, c-section is sometimes unavoidable.
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