NPR: The Gentle Cesarean, more like a birth than an operation
Kristen Caminiti cuddles her son Connor while doctors stitch her up following a C-section.
There are many reasons women need cesareans. Sometimes the situation is truly life threatening. But often the problem is labor simply isn’t progressing. That was the case for Valerie Echo Duckett, 35, who lives in Columbus, Ohio. After receiving an epidural for pain, Duckett’s contractions stopped. By late evening she was told she’d need a C-section to deliver her son, Avery. Duckett says she has vague memories of being wheeled into the OR, strapped down and shaking from cold.
“They were covering me up with warm blankets,”she says. “I kind of slept in and out of it.” Her only memory of meeting her newborn son for the first time was from some pictures her husband took.
This is the experience many women have. The cesarean section is the most common surgery in America – about 1 in 3 babies are delivered this way. But for many women, being told they need a C-section is unpleasant news. Duckett says she felt like she missed out on a pivotal moment in her pregnancy.
