[ozmidwifery] Caesareans!

[Pinky McKay]

Hi , Yesterday I had a wee chat to Bruce Sutherland - he started the Hawthorn Birth Centre and still has a few births there each month as well as his other obstetric practice. He was telling me - utterly mortfied - that the previous day a well known private hospital in Melbourne had a busy day, according the the midwives there . Yes, they said - 13 births!!! - TEN of these births were caesareans!! Bruce was beside himself - "Thats 70 percent - what IS going on??" He also told me how he had refused to do a caesarean for a mum having her 3rd baby =apparently the woman had two straightforwod births previously but her 'friends' had convinced her a csection would be the 'easy way'. Eventually he 'compromised' and gave this woman an epidural and induction that she was demanding - she had a 3 hr labour and easy birth.     Bruce is a legend but I am thinking he must be utterly baffled by the present trends for intervention He would have seen so many changes over the years - he is now helping women whose mothers went to him! He has fought enormously hard to give women natural births - introducing Leboyer births, then later setting up Hawthorn Birth Centre and including a large Birthing pool so women could labour/birth in water as he wasnt comfortable with the mother/ baby separation when Leboyer babies were put into a bath - mothers and babies (and partners/ support people) can be together in the tub at the birth Centre .   An interesting 'chat'. Pinky