Too Many Cesarean Sections: What You Need to Know

On Health for Women

Aviva Romm

Arts, Alternative Health, Health & Fitness, Medicine

4.8 • 1.4K Ratings

🗓️ 31 August 2022

⏱️ 56 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

We are facing what continues to be a global cesarean section crisis. The overuse of cesarean sections, especially in the United States, is not new, but it has continued to become more prevalent here and globally over the past 30 years. Joining me this week is obstetrician/gynecologist and world leader in women's reproductive rights, Marleen Temmerman, MD. Listen in as we talk about the dual problem of both the overuse and under-access of cesarean sections for women around the world, and the impact of both of these on women’s health and safety. I know you'll be as moved and inspired as I am hearing Dr. Temmerman's story and important research findings. Aviva and Marleen discuss: The why's behind the overuse and increase of cesareans Misconceptions about cesarean sections, natural births, and breeches The importance and role of midwives and why every birthing person needs one The various impacts and long-term effects of cesareans on babies Tools available to reduce the number of cesarean sections The ways women can advocate for themselves during childbirth and prevent unnecessary cesareans Dr. Marleen Temmerman has served as a senator in the Belgian parliament, as the director of the World Health Organization's Department of Reproductive Health and Research, and as the founding director of Ghent University's International Centre of Reproductive Health. After retiring from the WHO, she moved to Kenya, where she is now with the Aga Khan University in Nairobi and is Director of their Centre of Excellence in Women and Child Health. Most recently, she has played a pivotal role in bringing attention to the overuse and under-access of cesarean sections to the obstetrics world internationally as senior author of a series of focus articles published in The Lancet, one of the world's oldest and most respected medical journals. " Thank you so much for taking the time to tune in to your body, yourself, and this podcast! Please share the love by sending this to someone in your life who could benefit from the kinds of things we talk about in this space. Make sure to follow your host on Instagram @dr.avivaromm and go to avivaromm.com to join the conversation.

Transcript

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0:00.0	For the perception amongst our care providers and amongst women, it's kind of always a very
0:09.9	simple intervention that is easier in some cases than a normal delivery. For a gynecologist
0:16.6	actually it is sometimes easier to do a saverian section than to support a woman in an
0:23.6	normal birth process. Who is contributing actually to the increase saverian section? Basically
0:30.5	it's the gynecologist who holds a knife. From this stuff your mother never told you to
0:36.9	the stuff your doctor never learned. On health is what happens when a midwife plus a
0:41.5	Yale trained MD shares about all things women's health. From periods to menopause, sex
0:47.7	to reproductive health politics, motherhood to mental health. Join me for taboo busting
0:52.4	conversations that demystify and destigmatize our bodies all while bridging the gap between
0:58.0	conventional medicine and wellness. Along the way we'll be exploring the science and wisdom
1:02.7	of how our bodies work, what makes us well, what gets in the way and how we can live our
1:08.0	best lives on our terms. When it comes to women's health and well-being, there's nothing
1:12.7	we won't talk about. The new medicine for women is here. I'm Dr. Revivaram, welcome to
1:17.9	the podcast.
1:25.6	We are facing what continues to be a global sacerian section crisis. As with so many things those
1:34.4	who are most economically underserved are receiving too little of what they need and those in the
1:41.9	most resource rich countries are being oversold. The use of sacerian sections and the overuse
1:48.6	particularly in the U.S. is not new. This issue has been obvious since the 1980s. Ironically
1:56.6	at that time, the C-section rate was considered to be too high when it was escalating to 20%.
2:03.4	But now that would almost be a dream goal compared to the over 30% average we have nationally.
2:09.9	So according to the World Health Organization, the ideal is really between 10 and 15% but
2:15.7	no more than 19% for maximum outcome benefits. But if that wasn't already enough of a crisis,
	...

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