I gave birth to two children by caesarean section. Neither of the emperors was my wish. In the operating room, I felt alienated. I felt like an object. All I heard from the doctor was: “You were right, you would not have come out” – Ewa wrote in a letter to TvoiLokona.
- Almost half of Polish women give birth by caesarean section. A large proportion of these births are cesareans “on request”. At the conference of the Institute of Mother and Child, doctors sounded the alarm, threatening with complications
- In the text “Don’t scare us with a cesarean” we wrote that Polish women are afraid of pain, and that there is a shortage of anesthesiologists – they choose delivery with a caesarean section, because it guarantees anesthesia
- – I have heard many times “what is this childbirth?”, Or: “what do I know about giving birth”? This is very damaging to women. For a long time after my first delivery (caesarean section), I felt that I had failed. Such comments heightened my feeling that I was worse. I think it is important to say that this delivery is also a delivery – appeals one of the women
- After an “on demand” cut (psychiatric indications), she lost her uterus. The best team made the cut. Atony. Massive hemorrhage. Excision of the uterus. ICU. No possibility of having another child. Depression – wrote the gynecologist
From foxes to the editor:
«I gave birth to two children by caesarean section. Neither of the emperors was my wish. I wanted to give birth naturally. The first time after 16 hours of natural childbirth, I forced the doctor who came on duty to do something. In the operating room, I felt alienated. I felt like an object. All I heard from the doctor was: “You were right, he wouldn’t have come out”.
In the second delivery, the emperor was a matter of course. It turned out that the waters broke and the son was pointing his head up. After cutting, I had to undergo a long treatment as I was infected with six bacteria and a fragment of the placenta was left behind. During the cleaning of the uterus, when asked by a young doctor “when did I give birth?”, The elderly doctor said: “she did not give birth herself, why are you asking?”
My point is that caesarean section is often a necessity, but also many women decide to do it out of fear that they will not be able to cope and that no one will help them get through childbirth. I think it is also important to talk and make people aware that this delivery is also a delivery. I have heard many times “what is this childbirth?”, Or: “what do I know about giving birth”? This is very damaging to women. For a long time after my first childbirth, I felt that I couldn’t cope. Such comments heightened my feeling that I was worse. But hello! I gave birth to 16 hours. It didn’t matter. Perhaps it is worth looking at the problem of stigmatization of mothers after caesarean section ”.
Eva W.
«(…) From the very beginning of my pregnancy, I was focused only on giving birth to the forces of nature. Everything was going according to plan until the doctors started saying that my son was very important and they started to scare me (…) On December 27, I was admitted to the pathology of pregnancy in Zielona Góra. And here the stairs began. I had an ultrasound and it was found that my son will weigh well over 4 kg and there is no natural delivery option (…) Nobody wanted to listen to me. The head doctor said that no one in this hospital would induce a delivery for me. He will make the cut “cold and after trouble” (…) The son is healthy, a good man (4515 grams in childbirth). I am glad that my baby was born safe and sound, but I feel great regret to the hospital for the lack of any support in trying to give birth by force of nature. I am not surprised that there are so many emperors in Poland. There are women who want to have on request (which I personally cannot understand). But the truth is that doctors also prefer to take the easy way, put them on the table, 30 minutes and that’s it (…) ».
Nika
“I have already seen a few girls who have barely escaped death from cutting complications. You have rightly pointed out the reason for the increasing number of such operations. Actually, the reasons – obstetric care at the wrong level, including the lack of a sufficient number of anaesthesiologists, but also the powerlessness or misunderstanding of the problem on the part of successive health ministers. (…) Relationship between staff members at the end of the XNUMXth century. the century could be described in one word – the fight for money. The obstetrician considered himself the most important person during the whole labor, “guided” the pregnancy (the stroller with the baby can be led, but not the pregnancy) and explicitly or more subtly expected the cash (…) The midwife, the second person who had frequent contact with the woman in labor, also something there she wanted to earn some extra money, so she often told nonsense that “you can do it, I will massage the neck and it will be fine”, etc. because anesthesia prolongs labor ») and starting anesthesia as late as possible (…)
The most important thing in labor anesthesia is that it protects the fetal brain and uterus against hypoxia caused by hyperventilation (…). Relieving pain and facilitating labor “incidentally”. But which of the future mothers gets this information? (…)
Therefore, someone has to rethink maternity care in Poland, so that the woman does not pay for anything during childbirth. The second issue is salaries at a level that makes people want to work.
Dariusz Jędrasiak, an anesthesiologist
«I am a mother of two wonderful children. My daughter turns 5 tomorrow, born in water, naturally. And my son, who will be three. Sonny was a surprise for us, as we found out, I couldn’t believe I was pregnant. I did three tests and each turned out to be positive. And I decided that you have to live on. After my daughter I had a slight depression and a second pregnancy … I broke down a bit …
In the 7th month, it turned out that I had placenta previa, which meant that I wanted to give birth to a cesarean very much, but unfortunately I did not succeed (…) At 6 am they brought my baby to the hospital. I tell the midwife that it’s not mine, because I still have it in my stomach (…) I thought it would be okay, because women praise the caesarean. I came home after a few days (…) I got a hemorrhage because they “cleaned” me badly.
I got sepsis (…) I gave birth to my daughter in water, in 3.5 hours. was in the world. Quick, no stapling. I was very glad ….”.
Monika
«I am a gynecologist working in the gynecology and obstetrics ward of a hospital with reference level III. We receive the entire pathology of pregnancy from one province. Telling the possible consequences of a cesarean section is not scaring patients. These are not ghost cases that are talked about and which no one has ever seen before. Personally, I had an incision performed due to the pelvic position in the elements and an unsuccessful attempt at external rotation. A cut that ended in secondary infertility and another corrective surgery due to complications.
After cutting “on request” (psychiatric indications), the patient lost her uterus. The best team made the cut. Atony. Massive hemorrhage. Excision of the uterus. ICU. No possibility of having another child. Depression.
Only in the last week, a patient entered the block in the 38th week of pregnancy by ambulance – a condition after an incision with a ruptured uterus and a child born into the patient’s abdomen with a head and a hand. Another 3-5 minutes and there would be no one to save.
And the day before, I had a patient whose uterus ruptured in the 12th week of pregnancy and a living fetus, 7 cm in size, was born to the abdomen. She lost 4 liters of blood. ICU.
Show me at least one psychiatrist who sent the patient to childbirth school and ordered psychotherapy. I have been working for 12 years. I’ve never seen one like this. One visit – PLN 200. Certificate that the cut is due.
And we obstetricians were hounded by the media and patients’ families. They all shout in one chorus: “WE WANT THE CUTS !!!”.
A successful delivery is 90% positive about the patient’s attitude and a good, supportive team.
(…) Please ask the Ministry of Health why there are hospitals in which 300–500 children are born annually. Where there is no anesthesiologist available and experienced in setting up APDs. Experienced staff. Blood bank. Contracts are made with stretched hospitalizations. Completely unnecessary.
Why is it not possible to create one decent one out of 4–5 small units? With three doctors on call. Neonatologist. The birthing block. An anaesthesiologist who efficiently assumes an APD. Experience guarantees safety.
As a young doctor-intern, I witnessed a childbirth in the County Hospital, where the patient died after giving birth due to the stupidity of the staff, lack of an anesthesiologist and blood. It was an unnecessary death. The patient could be saved … If only she had given birth in another center. And such centers need to be created… but somehow no one sees the problem.
Gynecologist
«I gave birth twice by the forces of nature and I do not regret it, I encourage all women to do so (…) Most depends on the staff and your attitude (…) It’s just sad that in order to have professional care and a sense of security, intimacy and comfort you have to pay dearly (…) Not knowing when the baby will be born, letting him decide about it – that’s beautiful. Plus immune benefits. Scheduling to come to the hospital on the day and time with the emperor agreed in advance deprives the magic of this miracle in my opinion ».
Ewa B.
«We choose childbirth via CC, because in our country it is probably the safer method of giving birth. On the fingers of two hands, I can count the known cases of birth complications among people close to me. And it has always been a natural birth (…) We women give birth by caesarean section out of fear, because in Poland natural births are more and more often not as they should be. And I gave birth to my two children by elective cesarean section. And not because of the fear of pain, but because of the fear of what might happen (what could go wrong) during natural childbirth. None of my friends, including myself, had complications during childbirth CC ».
Karolina
«(…) Six years later I went to the Gynecology Clinic in Krakow with my son. After previous experiences, I consciously requested a cesarean with epidural anesthesia. Everything went according to plan – the operation lasted 20 minutes. However, I witnessed a young, 19-year-old girl with severe pain in the delivery room. Virtually all night, no one took care of her. The doctor didn’t come, and the midwives said it should be. Later I found out that her baby died in the womb. I remember that in the morning the doctors came to work, they performed her ultrasound again and again, unfortunately it was too late (…) Department of Hematology, Collegium Medicum, Jagiellonian University, 1999. Due to my experience and information I heard from the delivery room, I am an absolute supporter of a caesarean section ».
Małgorzata W.
«I was still wondering about the result of the campaign To give birth to humans. Did it happen that it lacked something that women are not eager to give birth humanly? Why give birth humanly when it can be “arranged”. I have such an impression (but it’s quite a subjective opinion) that this action has taken over the managerial role of the staff who so far have been saying what is possible, what is not, what is right and what is not. Only that she had made the same mistake as the previous “pact” – she thought she knew best. From the embrace of one tyrant, women fell into the arms of the other. And the end is that we have renovated delivery rooms, giving birth in the strangest positions, twilight and other imaginary circumstances, family birth rooms, there was even a hospital director who gave mothers diplomas of recognition / And at the same time women run away from what was supposed to be very important , a mystical experience. Maybe they are just afraid, and there is no one to explain it to them and make sure that during childbirth he is prepared for every circumstance? And they are afraid because they can see what the system looks like. They talk to each other, Facebook allows you to exchange experiences very quickly and they do not believe in fairy tales, neither doctors nor midwives, nor the action “To give birth humanly”.
I wonder how the national consultant in the field of obstetrics and gynecology monitors the situation, whether he has the data, analyzes them, what conclusions he draws from it and what is their effectiveness »
Dariusz Jędrasiak, an anesthesiologist
«It’s all about (…) first of all, insecurity, fear and pain. Ultimately, it is the mother who has to deal with herself, with her fears, the feeling of being rejected by the general public, and depression. (…) Before what I wrote above caught up with me, I thought that I would go, give birth and leave. After all, millions of women will do what I do on the same day. Or, like my mom, two hours and that’s it. I am strong, I exercised a lot before pregnancy…. Man, won’t I give birth? (…) I started to lose consciousness. It was then that the bed arrived and I was taken to the operating room (…) Comment of the deputy ward when she handed the child to me: Thursday at four in the morning, saying that I have no food, that the child is hungry: “there is hunger in Africa, and there mothers somehow feed their children”.
Second child? I’d love to. I can walk when pregnant, but I will not give birth.
After that with whom? The husband moved away because, unfortunately, he witnessed some events, he was with me, he was wiping the blood from the floor… ».
Ewa B.
«It is not so great in Scandinavia. I live in Denmark and I had a baby here. Yes, I was given anesthesia, but I had to insist very much and asked many times. But penicillin was also given during childbirth (which would never have happened in Poland!). The effect was that I had anaphylactic shock and the baby was born hypoxic. We both fought for our lives.
Many women have similar problems with childbirth here. Although officially every woman can get anesthesia, the truth is different. Midwives (there is no doctor at birth) tell you to wait until the last moment before being admitted to the hospital and then with a smile inform you that “it is too late for anesthesia”. Even when they are admitted to the hospital, the anesthesia also takes several hours (4 in my case) or it is not administered at all.
This is a situation that happens all the time. The reasons are, among others savings and striving to shorten the patient’s stay in the hospital as much as possible.
Most of the women I know have had more or less serious complications with improper delivery, such as waiting too long to trigger labor and infecting the newborn as a result. After the second child, the lady is discharged from the hospital after 2–4 hours. In Poland there is at least the option of a private birth, there is a doctor at birth, and doctors and midwives (as opposed to Denmark) think. This whole narrative about “perfect birth care” in Scandinavia is a myth, the truth is quite brutal. “
Monika
«I was supposed to give birth naturally. “With your growth, it is a formality”. A late pregnancy was sent to the hospital. Friday morning hospital check-up. Still nothing provocation. Another examination – a suspiciously short umbilical cord. CTG, the child’s heartbeat is imperceptible. Decision CAESAR CUT. I’ve never been so scared in my life… my legs are shaking because of fear… as it turned out, Antek had an umbilical cord wrapped around his neck three times, with a handle on top of it. Happy final. Today, he is 8 years old and is a smart and healthy boy. All I can say is that the pain after the surgery has overwhelmed me a hundred times. When I got out of bed… I passed out from pain. Another problem – LACTATION … I made it, it was a fight …
Natural childbirth is a GIFT – I don’t know, but I have friends for whom it’s really nothing … lighter than tooth extraction ».
Sabina
«I gave birth to my daughter at the age of 20. All the women in my family have had trouble giving birth, everyone has a bad memory of it. My mother miscarried one pregnancy and giving birth to me ended in a forceps delivery! In the 90s! In the last moment. I was afraid to be born, I was very scared, but no gynecologist would listen to me and said that everything would be fine. I got this paper with an indication to the emperor and during a visit to the head of one of the hospitals, I heard that if I did not want to have children, why I was getting pregnant … Sad and humiliating, but at that moment I prayed only for his consent for surgery. He made it, he had a better day … Shock and surprise in the room, because my daughter was born with a weight well over 4 kilos, and no one has measured her accurately. And what if I started giving birth naturally and she couldn’t, like my mother, and my daughter, who is so big? To this day, when I think about it, I feel fear ».
Agnieszka
The letters respond to: “Don’t scare us, Emperor!”