I believe birth is what you make it. For some I guess an elective induction or elective cesarean is their perfect birth. I couldn’t disagree more. This article was published by By Lauren M. Whaley, CHCF Center for Health Reporting:

Corrie Carroll’s husband travels for work a lot. So, when it came time to give birth to their daughter, the couple made an appointment. Carroll said the experience was perfect.

“He arrived home from Europe on a Wednesday night and we drove to the hospital at 6 a.m. on Thursday morning,” said the mother of three, who lives in Pasadena. “I checked in. I put my hospital gown on. They gave me Pitocin. About an hour later, they gave me an epidural and eight hours later I had a baby.”

Carroll is not alone in wanting more control over when the baby comes. More and more doctors are inducing their patients’ labors without a medical reason, said Dr. David Lagrew, a maternal-fetal medicine specialist at MemorialCare Health System in Orange County.

“If you really look at inductions and say, what percentage of inductions we do today fall into the elective category, it’s the vast majority of them,” he said.

Elective means that the labors are induced without a medical reason, usually for the convenience of doctor or patient. Lagrew at said these planned childbirths have been going up for many reasons: Grandma is coming to town to babysit or pregnant moms are sick of being pregnant. He also said there is pressure from physicians.

“If I can deliver everybody from 8 to 5 Monday through Friday, that’s a better lifestyle than being up all night,” he said.

In some practices, there is a financial incentive for a doctor to deliver his or her own patients. In these cases, if the doctor delivers her own patient, she doesn’t have to split the delivery fee with another doctor.

READ THE REST OF THE ARTICLE HERE: http://centerforhealthreporting.org/article/childbirth-appointment797 

 

I personally feel that unless 100% necessary labor augmentation and cesareans should be avoided. Why are people so incapable of letting things happen on their own time?  If  the “reason” behind an induction or cesarean is financially motivated or scheduled for nothing more than convenience maybe you should question your doctor.  There is a true epidemic in the birth world where instead of a 3% c-section rates the country has an average of 30% or more. To view the c-section rates in your area go to  http://www.cesareanrates.com/ and check out The Unnecesarean. 

On the opposite end of this I also believe if you do end up with an emergency c-section you should make the most of it. It is still your baby’s birthday and in the moment you made the decisions right for your family and personal situation. If your birth plan does not go according to plan you cannot waste time thinking about all the what ifs. It does not mean you love your baby any less. I am a natural birth advocate but I will never criticize parents who chose a cesarean or induction for MEDICAL reasons.

If your idea of a perfect birth includes unnecessary pain, endangering your child, but “knowing” you’ll be home in time to catch your favorite TV show then go ahead and schedule your induction.