You
might have recently seen the BBC documentary about the U.K.'s only
private maternity hospital, the Portland Hospital where prices start
from £ 8000. Even more surprising to me was the fact that 50% of
births there are Caesarian sections.
At
the Portland, the mother chooses how she wants her baby to be
delivered. Watching the programme it definitely seemed to me like the
first priority was the mother's comfort, but not exactly the baby's
best interests.
But
nowadays there is a giant study made in Denmark, covering 2 million
Danish children born
over a period of 39 years between 1973 and 2012. The
survey quite substantially shows that babies who
enter the world through a Caesarean delivery face much greater risks
of developing a range of chronic immune disorders caused by defects
in the immune system, compared to people delivered naturally.
People
born by C-section, more often suffer from chronic disorders such as
asthma, rheumatism, allergies, bowel disorders and dermatitis than
people born naturally.
It
does not mean that children who are born via C-section will
definitely develop any of these immune disorders, but the risk is
quite high when compared with people that are borne naturally. You
can read about this survey here..
They
mention that the cause for this correlation is not known. However,
some basic knowledge of natural healing can show some potential
reasons for this.
Just
look at how a natural birth happens.
A
baby leaves a sterile womb and starts to move through their mother's
vagina. It collects bacteria, and all kind of germs on its way out in
the world. Then the baby makes its first cry and, watch out – the
entire collection of its mother's germs and bacteria go directly into
its mouth and then down to the intestines... Practically the first
natural vaccine towards dealing with all that you may come into
contact is happening right then and like that. Even more – when the
baby takes its mother's milk, it is so very familiar already, and its
body knows how to deal with it and with many other things. This is the beginning of forming a
life long immunity.
What
happens during a c-section by comparison?
A baby is taken out of a
sterile womb and placed directly into a sterile hospital
surroundings. But everything in this new world is strange. Nothing is
familiar. And some babies may find it very challenging to start
building the immune system on their own – without the initial
support of their mothers germs and bacteria.
Surely,
if there are medical reasons for c-section, then no doubt it is in
everyone's best interests to do it. And being born from a c-section
doesn't mean that you won't have a full, happy and healthy life.
Just
as being born naturally doesn't automatically guarantee perfect
health. And I really hope that this doesn't come across as being
judgemental towards people who have C-sections for whatever reasons
but if there is any choice in what kind of birth to have to give a
baby the best possible chance of enjoying great health, then the best
option is to give birth naturally.
The
documentary also brought up the issue of pain. A nurse, or a midwife
just mentioned there that some pain must be present when delivering a
baby when a woman wanted a completely pain-free delivery. And yes,
pain during the process of childbirth is necessary for many
reasons... but maybe next time I'll talk about them... In the
meantime, I ll go and check up on the next episode on BBC.
