Methods of Child Birth
ChildBirth Methods discusses that Childbirth is an important and specific stage of the human lifespan. This is because, everybody is born, grown up, and when we are well of age, we die. Therefore, the existence of human is rooted back to childbirth. Basically, according to the a content adapted from Thomas Armstrong by the American 
Institute for Learning and Human Development, there are 12 stages of the human life cycle. This ranges from pre-birth, birth, infancy, early childhood, middle childhood, late childhood, adolescence, early adulthood, midlife, mature adulthood, late adulthood, death and dying. Apparently, the origin of these stages is childbirth. Moreover, there are somewhat a number of different methods of childbirth, which includes the artificial methods and the natural methods. Childbirth is the most frequent reason for hospitalization in the U.S. (Moore et al., 2011) Based on a 2009 statistics, for all the 4.1 million hospital cases related to childbirth, vaginal childbirth is about 91.3% and cesarean section deliveries is about 99.9% and this method had at least one complicating issue or the other. (Moore et al., 2011) Since most women without complications have to go through childbirth naturally, other women with various complications have to go through childbirth artificially.
First, most of the hospital stays are reasons for one childbirth related issues or the other. In the United States, the account of childbirth is about 10% of all the maternal hospitals stays and approximately $12.4 billion is being expended in hospitalization costs specifically for live births. This means that the aggregate shows one of the most expensive conditions for any inpatient hospital care. (Torio, 2011) Moreover, in 2008, virginal birth cost about $2,900 without any complications and those with complications spend about $3,800. Cesarean section costs about $4,700 without complications and complications cost $6,500. (Podulka et al., 2008) These costs have risen in recent years. According to Mariko Oi (2015) in BBC News, the United States is the most expensive country in the world to go through childbirth or receive treatments; this is because there is apparently no publicly financed health services compared to other developed countries. And since these prices are higher, the patients are given more attention and thus receive more services. (Oi, 2015) However, there are still recurring problems with the United States maternity care system. Many of the reasons why there is higher hospital stays for childbirth related issues is based on the U.S. maternity care system which usually offers fragmented, nonpersonal care that hardly reflect what some researches has shown in previous years producing the best health results for women and their babies. According to OBOS pregnancy and birth contributors (2014), many maternity cares in the United States is marked by various problems. This include too few women getting substantial prenatal care, many women exposed to the risks of high-tech procedures even when they are feeling healthy and may not benefit from them, many women subjected to potentially harmful processes and procedures without giving informed consent, very few women benefitting from low-tech supportive care patterns that may be of help to them to safely cope with the demands of pregnancy, labor, and of course birth, too many women who end up with emotional and physical health problem after childbirth and more. (OBOS, 2014) When these cases are not taken seriously, the rate of childbirth hospital stays will continue to increase. Also, issues like this tend to increase the maternal mortality rate in the United States. According to Kelly Wallace (2015), CNN records that it is difficult to understand how the United States, which is one of the wealthiest nations of the world are reaching the highest number of women dying because of pregnancy and childbirth. When researches were conducted, complications were the reasons why this is happening. This include, obesity-related complications such as diabetes and hypertension, the stunning increase in the number of cesarean section births, the lack of accessing affordable, quality health care, and many other women giving birth at their old ages. (Wallace, 2015) These are the major issues, increasing hospital stays for childbirth related issues.
Furthermore, women can go through childbirth naturally. Natural childbirth is when a child is born head-first, through the birth canal generally known as the vagina, supervised by a medical professional who makes sure that the mother and baby are very well, but the labor progresses without any medical assistance. (SOGC, 2009) A normal birth is regarded as spontaneous in the onset; it is low-risk at the beginning of labor and remains so all through the labor and birth. In natural childbirth, the child is born spontaneously in a vertex position which is between 37 and 42 completed weeks of the pregnancy. Usually, this type of birth utilizes the forces of the uterine contractions with the control of the woman. In other words, with little or no external assistances, a woman can give birth to her child. (Diegmann, 2004) in the United States, studies have shown that the rate of natural birth is increasing. Although, many women consider their birth as “natural childbirth” when they make use of medical interventions such as IV Fluids, Electronic Fetel Monitoring, and even labor stimulating drugs, for example, synthetic oxytocin. Moreover, natural childbirth is very possible in healthy women. The female body has been designed to labor before giving birth, and years, decades, and centuries have attested to this fact that natural birth often results in a healthy mother and a healthy child. (“Pregnancy.org”) Intuitively, some women have shown their concern that natural childbirth is quite dangerous for the mother or the child because of various stories that may have been heard about the necessity of cesarean surgery to occur, or perhaps other interventions during any complications. And some have the belief that women die during childbirth, and natural childbirth can therefore not be advisable since it may not be safe. (Righard, 2001) Additionally, natural childbirth can be a smooth process when the mother is healthy or lives healthy. Nobody will deny that sufficient medical care always improves the outcomes for mothers and their child. The health of the mother and child is the responsibility of the mother who lives a healthy lifestyle, although, natural childbirth can be painful in some women. However, other women hardly feel much pain during childbirth. There’s actually no way to determine how painful natural childbirth is. Some things can affect the amount of pains in the woman, and they are usually out of their control. However, many of these things that determine the level of pain are usually influenced by the woman. Such as not keeping herself well rested or healthy, staying dehydrated and not considering emptying the bladder frequently. All these can lead to painful sensations during natural childbirth. (“Pregnancy.org”)
Similarly, women can also go through normal childbirth. Normal childbirth involves the process in which the child is born headfirst, through the birth canal known as the vagina, but not just by herself, but the presence or intervention of a medical professional to help or support the birth. (SOGC, 2009) There are various processes or interventions in normal childbirth. In most cases, the need for intervention is discussed between the health care professional and the mother so as to ensure she’s involved in the decision-making. Augmentation of labor is one of the interventions that occur during childbirth. Sometimes, especially in the occurrence of prolonged labor, contractions can pose as a factor to weaken, fail to dilate the cervix, or do not assist the child come down the vagina. It is the responsibility of the medical professional to evaluate the situation and take the necessary steps or processes to ensure the delivery is safe. Medication, such as oxytocin can be given to the woman to stimulate contractions, and thereby assisting labor and active pushing. Often times, a midwife or nurse watches this progress during labor. (SOGC, 2009) Secondly, another method of normal childbirth is listening to the heartbeat of the baby. Taking a meticulous monitoring of the baby’s heart rate is one of many ways to find out if the baby is alive and feeling well during labor and delivery. In developed countries like Canada, medical professionals usually stay with the woman all through her labor and use a Doppler fetal heart rate monitor, and also listen to the heartbeat after any contraction, this occurs mostly in low-risk pregnancies. (SOGC, 2009) The benefits of normal childbirth include no surgery or complications that come along with it, faster recovery and a shorter hospital stay, reduced risk of injury or infections, increased confidence and reduced stress. (SOGC, 2009)
Lastly, childbirth can occur through cesarean section, generally known as C-Section. C-section is surgery for childbirth or delivery. This is a process where the baby is taken out through the abdomen of the mother. In most cases, cesarean births result in very healthy babies and mothers. However, C-section is more about the surgery and the risks that come along with it cannot be overemphasized. Also, the healing process takes longer than natural or normal vaginal birth. (“Medicinet.com”) Most healthy pregnant women without any risk factors for any related problems during their labor or delivery have their babies through the vagina. Still, the cesarean birth rate keeps increasing for many decades. About 31.8% of all births in the United States represent C-sections annually. (Hatfield, n.d) Moreover, many public health professionals feel that many C-sections are not necessary, so there are cases whereby what many pregnant women need is to get information to find out about C-sections before they deliver as well as the pros and cons of the surgery. (“Medicinet.com”) Surprisingly, C-section offers some advantages, such as the mom knowing in advance the date she will have the baby if it’s a planned C-section. Additionally, some important resources will be available, such as the neonatologists who will help in cases where there are issues with the child. However, it must be stated clearly that C-section is an abdominal surgery where a team of medical professionals, mid-wife, nurses, and OB work together to achieve success, this is because C-sections are very serious. (Hatfield, n.d)
Conclusively, the different childbirth methods or methods of childbirth result into bringing a child into live in one way or the other. Though, any of these methods comes with their benefits and disadvantages, but the health of the mother determines the method she will go through during her labor and delivery. Vaginal delivery is the commonest and safest childbirth methods. In certain circumstances, forceps may be used to cup the baby’s head and assist the baby through the vagina. Additionally, vacuum delivery is another way to help delivery and is similar to the forceps delivery. In cases where vaginal delivery is not possible, the C-section delivery may be necessary to save the mother and the baby, especially when complications such as the baby is not in the head-down position, the child is too large to pass through the woman’s pelvis, or the baby is in distress. The painful aspect of Cesarean delivery is that future deliveries occur based on C-sections.
References:
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- Righard, L. (2001). Making Childbirth a Normal Process. Birth, 28(1), 1-4. doi:10.1046/j.1523-536x.2001.00001.x
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- SOGC. (2008). Joint Policy Statement on Normal Childbirth. Retrieved June 20, 2016, from https://sogc.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/gui221PS0812.pdf
- The 12 Stages of Life by Dr. Thomas Armstrong. (n.d.). Retrieved June 20, 2016, from https://www.institute4learning.com/stages_of_life.php
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