How To Bourne

 In graduate school for anesthesia, I did one of my large projects on the topic of the Gentle Cesarean. I presented the topic at multiple conferences to rooms of people who were a little confused about why this was an anesthesia topic. The truth is that every person in the room for a cesarean needs to be on board for an idea like this in order for it to work.  It can also be any member of the birth team that pitches this idea and gets buy in from the rest of the team. Often, the person pitching this idea will be the patient.  Below, I have included the major concepts for a Gentle Cesarean, why this method is important, and how you can talk to your provider about this birth option.  This is a pretty academic post since it is mostly made of a graduate paper. Feel free to leave any questions or check the references at the bottom for more information.  What is a Gentle Cesarean? Vaginal birth offers benefits to the mother and baby that cesarean births do not innatel...

Around 38 weeks pregnant, most women start to feel totally done being pregnant.  They want the baby in their arms, they feel big, they are tired, they are done. Most OBGYNs are happy to schedule an induction for their patients at 39 weeks.  Due to the ARRIVE study, they can do this with "evidence" behind their decision. This new study found that being induced at 39 weeks decreased your rick of cesarean by 3% and decreased the risk of developing hypertension after 39 weeks.  Providers will justify the induction at 39 weeks for advanced maternal age (over 35), "big baby" on scans (these scans are often wrong by quite a bit), maternal discomfort, provider convenience (going on vacation, having plans over the weekend), and pretty much any other reason you can think of.  When you are told you can have an induction, it is so exciting!  You will meet you baby soon! Unfortunately, there are so many things about induction that moms don't realize.  There is a standa...