Pregnant women who are about to give birth will face a dilemma: should they choose cesarean section or vaginal delivery during childbirth? The impact of different delivery methods on mother and baby varies. Vaginal delivery has a positive significance for the health of mother and baby, while cesarean section is a non natural and traumatic surgical delivery method. Let's talk about the advantages and disadvantages of vaginal delivery and cesarean section below.
1、 What is the process of cesarean section?
Cesarean section, also known as cesarean section, is a commonly used delivery method for women, and it is one of the two delivery methods that women must choose, along with vaginal delivery. Cesarean section refers to the surgical method of sequentially cutting open the abdominal wall and uterus, and then delivering the fetus. It is commonly used to treat intrauterine hypoxia, difficult labor, and pregnancy complications.
1. Prior to cesarean section, multiple tests are required, such as blood routine, coagulation routine, liver and kidney function, etc. At the same time, it is necessary to adjust one's mentality, try to relax as much as possible, and rest well at night; Before cesarean section, fasting is required, usually starting at 12 pm the night before the surgery. Before the surgery the next day, there are still many preparations, such as listening to the fetal heart rate and confirming the intrauterine condition of the fetus; After preparing the skin and inserting the catheter, you can go to the operating room to prepare everything. Entering the operating room, anesthesia and disinfection are required. During anesthesia, under the guidance of a doctor, the parturient should adopt a bent knee position, that is, "lying on the side, bending down", to fully expose the lumbar spine as much as possible, and then keep it still. After anesthesia, the surgery can be performed.
When performing a cesarean section, it is necessary to cut open the abdomen and uterus of the mother, which may seem simple, but in reality, there are as many as seven layers. It is necessary to separate and cut the skin, subcutaneous fat, anterior sheath of rectus abdominis muscle, rectus abdominis muscle, peritoneum, uterine serosa layer, and uterine muscle layer layer layer by layer from the outside to the inside before removing the fetus and placenta. After the delivery of the fetus and placenta, the wound needs to be sutured. Stitching is carried out layer by layer from the inside out, wiping while suturing to avoid an increase in bleeding.
Within 6 hours after a cesarean section, it also falls within the scope of cesarean section. At this stage, the mother's anesthesia has not yet ended and they temporarily do not feel pain. But it requires the use of uterine contraction needles to stimulate uterine contractions, promote lochia discharge, and also requires lying flat on the pillow for 6 hours.
When lying flat on the pillow, the mother's spine and head are on the same horizontal line, which can effectively promote the healing of the dura mater, prevent a large amount of cerebrospinal fluid from flowing out, minimize the sequelae caused by cesarean section anesthesia, and alleviate the pain of the mother.
2、 What is the process of vaginal delivery?
Vaginal delivery refers to natural vaginal delivery, which is a natural physiological phenomenon. The specific process of vaginal delivery is as follows:
1. The mother enters the waiting room: If the mother experiences regular contractions, with intervals of 5-6 minutes and lasting for more than 30 seconds, or if there is water breakthrough, the mother can enter the waiting room.
2. Dilation of the cervix: As the contractions of the parturient become stronger, the cervix also expands further, causing the fetal head to descend and the cervix to open up to 10cm, which is a sign of delivery. At this time, when entering the delivery room, multiparous women usually enter the room with the cervix opened 4cm wider.
3. Delivery of the fetus: At this time, the mother may feel a sensation of defecation. Through the mother's continuous effort, the fetus is delivered, which usually takes two to three hours. After the fetus is delivered, the umbilical cord is cut off.
4. Placenta delivery: Within half an hour after the fetus is delivered, the placenta is delivered. If it cannot be delivered naturally, the doctor will use their hands to help the placenta deliver, and the delivery will end.
3、 The advantages and disadvantages of vaginal delivery and cesarean section
1. Advantages of vaginal delivery: Whether vaginal delivery can proceed smoothly mainly depends on three factors: the pregnant woman's productivity, the birth canal, and the size of the fetus. Vaginal delivery is the most ideal method of delivery, and its advantages include: (1) the fetus can be naturally squeezed through the birth canal to expel the amniotic fluid accumulated in the lung interstitium, avoiding newborns from developing "wet lung" syndrome, etc. (2) It can reduce surgical complications for postpartum women and minimize trauma. (3) The coordination ability of fetal body movements during natural childbirth is better than that of children born through other delivery methods. (4) It is also beneficial for the elimination of postpartum lochia, uterine recovery, and quick postpartum recovery, without affecting future fertility. In addition, milk production is also relatively fast.
2. Disadvantages of vaginal delivery: (1) It can cause some damage to the vagina. (2) The pain caused by uterine contractions is quite severe. (3) If encountering difficult labor, it may be necessary to switch to cesarean section, which can cause double harm.
3. Advantages of cesarean section: (1) It can effectively shorten the labor process, especially when the fetus experiences intrauterine hypoxia, fetal macrosomia, or pelvic stenosis in the mother. (2) If there are other diseases in the abdominal cavity of the parturient, they can be relieved at the same time as the cesarean section. (3) The pain is relatively low, and anesthesia is usually injected during cesarean section, which generally does not cause significant pain in women. Therefore, the benefits of cesarean section are generally lower pain. (4) Relatively safe, cesarean section is suitable for difficult labor. If a woman experiences difficult labor during vaginal delivery, the fetus can usually be removed through cesarean section, which can save the lives of both the fetus and the woman at a critical moment.
4. Disadvantages of cesarean section: (1) Easy infection: Cesarean section mainly involves making an incision through the abdomen to remove the fetus, and there may be incisions during this process. Improper daily care can easily lead to bacterial growth and infection in the wound. (2) Leave scars: Cesarean section incisions are relatively deep and usually require suturing for recovery. Scar tissue may appear during the recovery period. At the same time, if one has a scar constitution, scar hyperplasia may occur. (3) Large bleeding volume: Cesarean section is a surgical procedure that often causes damage to blood vessels during the operation, resulting in bleeding in clinical practice. If abnormalities occur during the surgery, it is easy to experience symptoms of massive bleeding. (4) In addition to the above drawbacks, there may also be situations such as intestinal adhesions, which require daily care.
4、 How to choose the production method?
Cesarean section requires certain medical indications, which may endanger the life safety of mother and baby, leading to the inability of vaginal delivery to proceed smoothly, such as relative head pelvic imbalance, macrosomia, fetal distress (hypoxia), preeclampsia, prenatal bleeding (placental abruption, placenta previa), and threatened uterine rupture (scarred uterus). It is worth noting that non-medical indications for cesarean section should not be artificially chosen (such as due to fear of pain, wanting to choose a good day, etc.), as non-medical indications for cesarean section surgery do more harm than good.