Would you opt for a C-section to keep your man happy?
Apr 11, 2011
PREGNANT Celia Namata made a radical decision never to give birth the natural way. She wants a caesarean section more than anything.
By Joyce Nyakato
PREGNANT Celia Namata made a radical decision never to give birth the natural way. She wants a caesarean section more than anything.
This decision has been influenced by a number of her friends who, after giving birth naturally, claim to be deserted by their husbands.
“Their husbands are constantly complaining that their pelvic floor muscles are no longer tight enough and sex is not pleasurable,†she says.
Some of her friends suffered tears during natural birth and she is not ready to risk it.
“Most women will sustain some form of trauma after a vaginal birth,†says Dr. Robert Busingye, a consultant gynaecologist at Mulago Hospital.
During childbirth, the perineal muscles between the vaginal and anal canal stretch to make room for the delivery of the baby’s head and shoulders. Sometimes the perineum will tear in the process of letting the baby out.
To make the baby’s birth easier and prevent severe tears that can be difficult to repair, doctors make a surgical cut with scissors referred to as an episiotomy.
During instrument-assisted deliveries when forceps or vacuums are used, the perineum is likely to be stretched more than usual. Irrespective of whether a mother comes away from the birthing episode with an episiotomy or perineum tear, any wound to this area is painful and healing a challenge.
That is why women like Namata would rather have a C-section than have a vaginal birth.
A C-section is done by a surgical incision in the abdomen and uterus to deliver a baby. Although it has been traditionally an emergency solution to save the life of the mother, the baby or both, it has evolved to be elective – where the mother chooses to have it.
“Ethical doctors will not perform a C-section on someone that has no medical reason to have it,†says Dr. Busingye.
Although it may be tempting to try to schedule the baby’s birth date and avoid the uncertainty and pain of labour or the disfiguring of the perineum, C-sections should never be approached lightly. While there are benefits associated with C-sections, it is also a major surgery and it carries risks.
Busingye, cautions that caesareans often result in more blood loss compared to vaginal deliveries. Because many muscles are severed, some women lose a significant amount of abdominal muscle strength.
“People should be scared of Caesarean sections. There must be compelling reasons to prompt it,†he asserts. Keeping the vaginal muscles tight should not be reason enough to warrant the surgery.
He adds that though women may incur some form of perineal trauma during a vaginal delivery, it is a safer mode of delivery compared to Caesarean births.
Managing perineal damage after birth
While you are still on the delivery table and your baby is being taken care of, your perineum will be checked for injury. An episiotomy or tears that need repair will be sutured (stitched up). Some small tears and bruises are likely to heal on their own and may not require suturing, depending on the doctor’s assessment.
Third degree repairs are general surgeries and require general anaesthesia. In cases when suturing is not properly done, infections are likely to occur and the stitches may break.
Improper repair after perineal damage may lead to a lax perineum, or a wide entrance to the vaginal canal. Such a condition is likely to lead into sexual discomfort with complaints stemming from either partner.
Some women are likely to live with perineal damage for years. They gave birth and recovered from the injury but the functionality has been lost.To a woman, a loss in vaginal elasticity hampers satisfaction and pleasure in sexual activity. Women are unable to experience the kind of sexual satisfaction that a tight birth canal provides.
Dr. Busingye assures that even after living with perineal damage for years, it can still be repaired.
Repair involves refreshing the edges, tightening the perineal muscles and sphincters and repairing the mucosa and skin.
Recovery after a normal birth
Adupet advises women to do exercises such as pelvic floor exercise, which can help them maintain their pelvic tightness. A study done by Northwick Park Hospital’s Division of Obstetrics and Gynaecology in the UK revealed that the efficiency of the perineal muscles was found to be significantly related to the extent to which women took regular exercise.
The perineal muscles carry the increasing weight of your uterus and your baby during pregnancy and are fully stretched during birth. This extra weight and stretching can cause these muscles to lose some of their strength and tone.
Kegel exercises are prescribed for pregnant women to prepare the pelvic floor for physiological stress of the later stages of pregnancy and after childbirth. Doing Kegel exercises can help regain muscle strength and tone sooner after birth.
To do Kegel exercises, squeeze the perineal muscles as if you were trying to stop the flow of urine. Hold for five to 10 seconds and then relax. Do these exercises 10 times a day in sets of 10 repetitions. Do at least 10 Kegel exercises every time you urinate and at least 100 Kegels each day. No one can tell that you are doing Kegels and you can do them anywhere.
It does not matter if you give birth or not, perineal muscles still lose their strength if not exercised regularly throughout your life. Since healing after birth takes at least six weeks, gynaecologists recommend no intercourse until after a postpartum check-up.
Alternatively, women are now seeking other ways and means to tighten the muscles and maintain their elasticity to keep their partners by their side.
Women are using herbs, gels, creams and shrubs to maintain perenial muscle functionality.
Selma Nankubuga, a resident of Kintintale says when she gave birth, her friends advised her to take some herbs to restore her tightness. Most of these herbs are pounded and mixed in water in basin in which the mother sits.
A number of vaginal tightening creams and soaps are available in pharmacies, supermarkets and Chinese herbal clinics. However, these remedies are not research based. That is why Julia Mbabazi, 32, a mother of three, sticks to the exercises as a remedy. She argues that a woman who is well attended to by a doctor and does exercises regularly should naturally restore her tightness.
According to Dr Busingye, many women after giving birth have their canals widened. after a period of six weeks, they are likely to return to usual or become fairer.If they have been using herbs, they are likely to purport that it is the herbs that have made them better. Most women go back to normal without any intervention.
PREGNANT Celia Namata made a radical decision never to give birth the natural way. She wants a caesarean section more than anything.
This decision has been influenced by a number of her friends who, after giving birth naturally, claim to be deserted by their husbands.
“Their husbands are constantly complaining that their pelvic floor muscles are no longer tight enough and sex is not pleasurable,†she says.
Some of her friends suffered tears during natural birth and she is not ready to risk it.
“Most women will sustain some form of trauma after a vaginal birth,†says Dr. Robert Busingye, a consultant gynaecologist at Mulago Hospital.
During childbirth, the perineal muscles between the vaginal and anal canal stretch to make room for the delivery of the baby’s head and shoulders. Sometimes the perineum will tear in the process of letting the baby out.
To make the baby’s birth easier and prevent severe tears that can be difficult to repair, doctors make a surgical cut with scissors referred to as an episiotomy.
During instrument-assisted deliveries when forceps or vacuums are used, the perineum is likely to be stretched more than usual. Irrespective of whether a mother comes away from the birthing episode with an episiotomy or perineum tear, any wound to this area is painful and healing a challenge.
That is why women like Namata would rather have a C-section than have a vaginal birth.
A C-section is done by a surgical incision in the abdomen and uterus to deliver a baby. Although it has been traditionally an emergency solution to save the life of the mother, the baby or both, it has evolved to be elective – where the mother chooses to have it.
“Ethical doctors will not perform a C-section on someone that has no medical reason to have it,†says Dr. Busingye.
Although it may be tempting to try to schedule the baby’s birth date and avoid the uncertainty and pain of labour or the disfiguring of the perineum, C-sections should never be approached lightly. While there are benefits associated with C-sections, it is also a major surgery and it carries risks.
Busingye, cautions that caesareans often result in more blood loss compared to vaginal deliveries. Because many muscles are severed, some women lose a significant amount of abdominal muscle strength.
“People should be scared of Caesarean sections. There must be compelling reasons to prompt it,†he asserts. Keeping the vaginal muscles tight should not be reason enough to warrant the surgery.
He adds that though women may incur some form of perineal trauma during a vaginal delivery, it is a safer mode of delivery compared to Caesarean births.
Managing perineal damage after birth
While you are still on the delivery table and your baby is being taken care of, your perineum will be checked for injury. An episiotomy or tears that need repair will be sutured (stitched up). Some small tears and bruises are likely to heal on their own and may not require suturing, depending on the doctor’s assessment.
Third degree repairs are general surgeries and require general anaesthesia. In cases when suturing is not properly done, infections are likely to occur and the stitches may break.
Improper repair after perineal damage may lead to a lax perineum, or a wide entrance to the vaginal canal. Such a condition is likely to lead into sexual discomfort with complaints stemming from either partner.
Some women are likely to live with perineal damage for years. They gave birth and recovered from the injury but the functionality has been lost.To a woman, a loss in vaginal elasticity hampers satisfaction and pleasure in sexual activity. Women are unable to experience the kind of sexual satisfaction that a tight birth canal provides.
Dr. Busingye assures that even after living with perineal damage for years, it can still be repaired.
Repair involves refreshing the edges, tightening the perineal muscles and sphincters and repairing the mucosa and skin.
Recovery after a normal birth
Adupet advises women to do exercises such as pelvic floor exercise, which can help them maintain their pelvic tightness. A study done by Northwick Park Hospital’s Division of Obstetrics and Gynaecology in the UK revealed that the efficiency of the perineal muscles was found to be significantly related to the extent to which women took regular exercise.
The perineal muscles carry the increasing weight of your uterus and your baby during pregnancy and are fully stretched during birth. This extra weight and stretching can cause these muscles to lose some of their strength and tone.
Kegel exercises are prescribed for pregnant women to prepare the pelvic floor for physiological stress of the later stages of pregnancy and after childbirth. Doing Kegel exercises can help regain muscle strength and tone sooner after birth.
To do Kegel exercises, squeeze the perineal muscles as if you were trying to stop the flow of urine. Hold for five to 10 seconds and then relax. Do these exercises 10 times a day in sets of 10 repetitions. Do at least 10 Kegel exercises every time you urinate and at least 100 Kegels each day. No one can tell that you are doing Kegels and you can do them anywhere.
It does not matter if you give birth or not, perineal muscles still lose their strength if not exercised regularly throughout your life. Since healing after birth takes at least six weeks, gynaecologists recommend no intercourse until after a postpartum check-up.
Alternatively, women are now seeking other ways and means to tighten the muscles and maintain their elasticity to keep their partners by their side.
Women are using herbs, gels, creams and shrubs to maintain perenial muscle functionality.
Selma Nankubuga, a resident of Kintintale says when she gave birth, her friends advised her to take some herbs to restore her tightness. Most of these herbs are pounded and mixed in water in basin in which the mother sits.
A number of vaginal tightening creams and soaps are available in pharmacies, supermarkets and Chinese herbal clinics. However, these remedies are not research based. That is why Julia Mbabazi, 32, a mother of three, sticks to the exercises as a remedy. She argues that a woman who is well attended to by a doctor and does exercises regularly should naturally restore her tightness.
According to Dr Busingye, many women after giving birth have their canals widened. after a period of six weeks, they are likely to return to usual or become fairer.If they have been using herbs, they are likely to purport that it is the herbs that have made them better. Most women go back to normal without any intervention.