Re: Misconceptions

[Nikki Macfarlane]

Jo's comment was interesting to me.   "What they didn't get was the lack of opportunity to bond with baby after having cs can cause you to be distant and detached to the child! "   I was watching a program about a vet on television the other night. It was filmed at Battersea Dog's Home in London. A bitch had come in that had been in labour. The vet was interviewed and was explaining that when she arrived the bitch was in some distress with a newborn lodged in her birth canal and unable to be born. They made the decision to deliver her pups by caesarean. The mother had then rejected the whole litter after the birth and the pups were being brought up with formula milk. The vet commented on how this rejection and lack of bonding between mother and pup is something they frequently see after caesarean births and how it is a known complication of caesareans with dogs.His explanation was that the natural hormones a mother produces in the period after a vaginal birth is not the same as with a caesarean, even though in this case the mother did experience labour. Now, why is this ok to acknowledge in the animal kingdom but when claiming that caesareans can affect the relationship between mother and child the medical world is appalled and claims people "like us" are just making women feel guilty. Interesting.   Nikki Macfarlane Nursing Student, CBE & Doula Singapore