On Saturday, December 17^th at 10am – 12pm, dozens of women, men and children gathered in front of Sharp Mary Birch Hospital for Women in a “Rally for Change”. In 1964 the national c-section rate was 6% and the most recent numbers just released for 2010, the rate is 36%. “This means that more than 1 out of every 3 women is having major abdominal surgery in order to bring their child into the world” says Dawn Thompson of San Diego Birth Network. This peaceful rally is meant to help educate new mothers about the risk of both elective induction and elective c-section.

The rally for change is meant for the vast majority of the birthing female population that has normal healthy pregnancies. Dawn goes on to say “Women deserve evidence-based care that is based on scientific studies, not tradition or "doctor convenience" based care.”  The definition of Evidence based care is; the conscientious, explicit, and judicious use of current best evidence in making decisions about the care of individual patients. Many women are being told dubious things like; their baby is too big, pelvis too small, and low amniotic fluid, even after all of the studies have shown that the means in which they measure these things are grossly inaccurate. The greatest cause for induction, which 50% of time ends in c-section, is going past their due date. Most doctors do not support a women going past 41 weeks even though their own governing agency, ACOG, states that post dates is not until 42 weeks. Even more incredulous is that many inductions are happening before 39 weeks of pregnancy.

In my first year of being a birth doula, I had this client. She desperately wanted a VBAC (vaginal birth after c-section). She told me how in her first birth that she was in labor for hours. Waters broken, Pitocin, epidural, tubes and wires coming from every direction. During her extremely long ordeal the only change to her cervix was the effacement (the thinning of the cervix). Her cervix never opened at all. I assumed at the time that this was because her baby was just not ready to come out. This time could and would be different. She would wait for labor to start. We would stay at home and labor where she was comfortable. When the day came, that is exactly what she did. Her labor seemed to be moving right along. When we got to the hospital I expected they would tell her that she was 4-5 cms. Instead what we got was, 100% effaced but only a finger tip dilated. I think I may have even gasped out loud. I immediately started beating myself up in my head. How could I have read her labor so wrong? 6 more hours would pass with her, her husband and I working hard. Moving from the birth ball to the shower and I swear every inch of that hospital room in between. After 6 hours, still a finger tip dilated. Obviously there is something wrong with her cervix, but what. No one seemed to know. Not the two different nurses that we had the pleasure of getting to know or the doctor who we saw just once when he was coming to explain that she would be having yet another c-section. This is one of those moments in my career that I really wish I knew then what I know now.