RISKS of Cesarean Delivery to Mother and Baby

Please consider this information before opting for a Cesarean Section for your convenience.

• You risk death 5-7 times more than with vaginal birth
• complications during and after surgery include surgical injury to the bladder, uterus and blood vessels, hemorrhage (1-6 women per 100 require a blood transfusion) blood clots in the legs (6-20 per 1000), pulmonary embolism (1-2 per 1000), paralysed bowel(10-20 per 100~mild cases, 1 per 100 severe cases), infection (up to 50 times more common), anesthesia accidents.
• 1/10 women report problems with normal activities for 2 months after the C/S birth...
• Twice as many women require re-hospitalization
• Negative emotions are reported by twice as many women for unplanned C/S
• Related to C/S being an abdominal surgery, internal scar tissue can cause pelvic pain, pain during sexual intercourse, and bowel problems.
• Increase sterility, miscarriage, placenta previa, abruption of the placenta, premature birth, uterine rupture.

Hazards to the BABY for Cesarean Section include:

• for planned C/S. some babies will be inadvertently be delivered prematurely. These babies may then experience breastfeeding problems.
• 1-2 babies per 100 will be cut during the surgery.
• babies are 50 percent more likely to have low APGAR scores, requiring assistance with breathing, and 5 times more likely to be admitted to intensive or intermediate care units.
• Babies born after elective C/S are likely to develop persistent pulmonary hypertension compared with vaginally birthed babies.
• Mother's have more difficulty forming an attachment to the baby.
• Babies are less likely to breastfeed.

Reference:

Coalition for Improving Maternity Services, N.D. The risks of cesarean delivery to mother and baby: A CIMS Fact Sheet: Retrieved by Google website, November 20, 2007, http://www.motherfriendly.org.

Smoking and Pregnancy DON'T Mix!

Smoking and being pregnant don't mix, for several reasons. If you smoke while you are pregnant, then your baby is more likely to:

• be born too soon or too small to be healthy


• die suddenly from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)


• experience asthma or breathing difficulty


• exhibit behavior problems


• perform poorly in school


• grow up to be a smoker, and pass on this terrible heritage


• For more online help:


• http://www.smokefree.gov/


• www.quitnownc.org/iwant.htm


• http://www.americanlegacy.org/

SECOND HAND SMOKE is NO BETTER:

• opening a window may help clear the air, but not improvement enough. Scientists found babies' hair to still contain tobacco chemicals and urine also, even when the window was open and a fan was used.


• whether the baby breathes a lot or a little makes no difference. Babies' sensitive lungs still absorb nicotine, particles and harmful gases.


• second hand smoke contains 4000 chemicals which include carbon monoxide, the same chemical that comes from the car tailpipe. It can kill. The babies' lung work hard, and chances increase for bronchitis and pneumonia.


• babies who are exposed to secondhand smoke don't do well in school. It also doubles their risk of cavities in baby teeth, because it causes babies to have less saliva and more cavity-causing acid in their mouth.


• For Further web help:


• http://www.tobaccorealityunfiltered.com/


• http://www.smokefreenc.org/


• http://www.stepupnc.org/

REFERENCE sources:

(North Carolina Healthy Start Foundation:NC Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Public Health-Women's and Children's Health Section, and the Health and Wellness Trust Fund Commission of North Carolina:'If you smoke and are pregnant: Get Real~Secondhand Smoke Matters.