Normal Delivery VS C – Section

Giving birth to a baby, primarily needs to take care of health and safety of the mother and the new born. Either methods of Normal (vaginal) delivery or a C section have their sides of pros and cons but the decision is made after weighing all the factors that may influence health and safety of the mother and baby. Pregnant women can have a voice in the process of decision making, advocate for their desire and make a better choice if they are as informed as possible about their child birth options.

Normal delivery:

Each mother and each baby are different. While the anatomy and physiology are standard, how each labour and birth proceeds is fine-tuned through the active involvement of the labouring woman. women giving birth have to be supported, encouraged and comforted by family, friends and professionals. Normal delivery is a preferred choice and has a number of advantages to consider for both the mother and the baby.

Advantages:

For Mother:

• Provides an environment for the mother to actively participate in the process
•  Gives her a more positive and empowering experience
• The intimacy during the process ensures better bonding between the baby and the mother
• Much faster recovery and normalcy
• Shorter length of hospital stay for the mother
• There is no scarring or attention to take care of stitches
• Follow up visits for the mother to the hospital are also fewer

For Baby:

• Normally, the baby is also ready to come out of the womb at the same time as the mother is ready to deliver
• Amniotic fluids filled in the lungs of the baby get pushed out during the normal process of expelling the baby through the vagina. This allows easy breathing and less respiratory problems for the baby.
• The baby coming out of the womb through the vagina, inhales good bacteria which helps in boosting the immune system.
• There are fewer complications, less instances of allergies for babies born through vaginal delivery
• Baby will have earlier contact with the mother
• Babies born through normal delivery start breast feeding earlier

There are a few disadvantages that may trouble the mother while opting for normal delivery.

• Delivery is entirely dependent on the mother’s body. The time of childbirth remains uncertain and hard to be scheduled.
• Duration of labour is not fixed as it can vary from short to long hours
• The mother has to undergo pain and stress during labour
• Assistance with episiotomy, suction cups or forceps while delivering may be needed specially if the baby is large
• Skin and tissues around the vagina can stretch and tear while delivering the baby making it necessary for stitches
• Vaginal delivery can lead to weakness or injury to pelvic muscles that control urine and bowel function resulting in urine or bowel incontinence
• Post-delivery discomfort or pain in the perineum, the area between vagina and anus may give sexual problems

Recovery time

One of the major benefits of having a vaginal birth is that the recovery time is as short as allowing the mother to start walking immediately after the delivery. The typical duration of hospital stay for a woman undergoing a vaginal delivery is usually between 24 and 48 hours. If the mother is comfortable to leave the hospital sooner than the normal time period, with no risk of complications, she may be permitted in concurrence with the RMP or Gynaecologist in chennai.

Risk factors:

• Complications that can lead to a drop in the baby’s heart rate can occur during the process of vaginal delivery, requiring the mother to be given anaesthesia and taken for emergency C-section.
• Long labour or a large baby delivered vaginally with the help of forceps or suction can risk the baby getting injured during the birth process resulting in bruises or a fracture to the collarbone.

C section:

Surgical method of child birth is referred as Caesarean or C-section delivery. A C-section can either be planned and scheduled for the following reasons:

• expecting twins or other multiples
• medical conditions such as diabetes or high blood pressure
• an infection such as HIV that can be passed on to the baby
• placental abnormalities
• a very large baby in a mother with small pelvis
• the baby has not turned to the heads down position – to avoid breech delivery

or unplanned due to emergency situations such as too long a labour making the mother weak and tired, absence of amniotic fluid, preterm deliveries, lack of oxygen availability to the baby or the baby’s heart rate being too low.

C-section may be chosen by the mother as an elective decision for non-medical reasons before she goes into labour. Reasons could be that the mother wants to deliver the baby at a particular time or to avoid complicated vaginal delivery as perceived by her previous experience or external influence.

Advantages:

Though there are very few benefits of C-section as compared to normal delivery, one must understand that it has its own advantages in case of circumstances that challenge saving life and ensuring utmost health of the mother and child.

ours with lots of love

Dr Manu Lakshmi ( Best doctor for normal delivery in Chennai)