¿Natural birth or Caesarean?

Natural childbirth is the way that nature has chosen for entry into the world of a new human being. It is therefore the ideal way for birth occurs.

The specialists in Gynaecology believe that childbirth is normal (we describe the technical word eutocic) when it meets the conditions that make it easier, ie, with more likely to come to fruition. These conditions are:

• Pregnancy has reached full term, ie, have been fulfilled 37 weeks of gestation and 42 are not exceeded.
• That the fetus has an appropriate weight, ie, that is between 2,500 and 4,000 g.
• The presentation is cephalic, ie the part of the fetus is ready to go first is the head.
• The start is spontaneous, ie the contractions start naturally.

When these conditions are not met there may be a high risk to the health of the fetus or mother, and you may have to opt for a cesarean. This technique involves the extraction of the fetus by surgery through the abdomen of the mother.

Natural childbirth or Caesarean: advantages and disadvantages

If everything goes normally, natural childbirth has fewer risks and complications. However, it should be adequate control of both the mother and the fetus.

It is difficult to summarize all the dangers that exist in the case of a birth and a caesarean. In the vast majority of cases, complications are rare, but they exist, and sometimes very serious.

In the case of a natural birth, the mother will suffer pain with contractions, but there are several methods to control. The best known is the epidural anesthesia.

During the output of the fetal head tears may occur, which may cause bleeding, pain and sometimes anal sphincter injury. In some cases you choose to perform a controlled to prevent tearing cut, called episiotomy.

Caesarean section, meanwhile, when an operation has increased risk of bleeding, infections and injuries of neighboring organs such as the bladder.

When you need to perform a cesarean section?

There are cases where that is scheduled cesarean section before onset of labor, because it is suspected that the risk to the mother, the fetus or both is too high if the birth occurs naturally. It happens, for example, when the fetus has no head, but other parts of your body such as the buttocks or feet.

Caesarean section is also performed when a woman has had previous surgery in the womb, which can increase the risk of uterine rupture, or when the fetus shows signs of losing their welfare.

On other occasions labor starts spontaneously and need to perform a caesarean section to finish it , because it does not evolve adequately. It may be that there is a disproportion between the size of the fetal head and pelvis of the mother, preventing the dilation or expulsion of the ideal way to progress. It may also happen that the fetus shows signs of oxygenates not correctly during contractions, and is not keeping their welfare.

Recovery after delivery or caesarean section

Usually, after a normal delivery , the patient remains in the hospital 48 hours. Recovery is rapid, especially if there has been no tears and no episiotomy was performed.

Caesarean section requires an income of 3 to 5 days. Recovery is slower and more painful, so patients need to use more painkillers. In addition, milk takes longer to climb and no increased risk of puerperal infections. There are also more likely to suffer postpartum depression.

How many births by caesarean section and natural childbirth there in Spain?

In Spain, caesarean section rates vary greatly depending on the regions, and if labor is treated in the public health system or in private medicine. In public hospitals, for example, it is between 20 and 30% of cases, while in private hospitals can reach 40%.

Naturally, there are many variations also being different hospitals.