PIN PRICKING A SECRET WEAPON IN THE FIGHT FOR GLOWING SKIN {page 13} ...and more!
OLD PRO SPARE MAYA ANY PREGNANCY ADVICE {page 10}
OTTAWA
Tuesday, May 10, 2011 www.metronews.ca News worth sharing.
Too posh to push a myth
Game. Face
Reducing C-section birth rate to 15% saves health-care system $25 million: Researcher JESSICA SMITH
@METRONEWS.CA
Jill Perry works out yesterday at the Beaver Boxing Club where she is a coach and manager. JESSICA SMITH/METRO
Set to take over the boxing club Perry’s coach, club owner Joe Sandulo, is set to retire and Perry will be taking over at the club’s new location in Little Italy. Story, page 4.
A University of Ottawa PhD candidate is being recognized this week for disproving a common myth — that type-A women are so busy and used to being in control that they choose to have babies by Caesarian section. “If you really look at it, women do prefer having a natural birth, they do not prefer having a C-section,” said Esther Shoemaker. “It’s not this ‘I’m too posh to push’ kind of argument, it just doesn’t hold.” Shoemaker is receiving the Canadian Health Services Research Foundation’s Mythbuster award for debunking the myth — one she said she often hears from experts in her field. Reviewing Canadian and foreign studies, Shoemaker found that most mothers who had a Csection said it was their healthcare provider who had made the decision. C-sections have a number of drawbacks. They cost the system $2,265 more than a vaginal birth,
“It’s important for women to know that they do have a choice, they can refuse any kind of treatment.” ESTHER SHOEMAKER
present surgery-associated risks, result in scarring and can increase risks in future pregnancies, Shoemaker said. Breastfeeding rates are lower among mothers who give birth by C-section, and recovery time is longer, she added. However, she said she doesn’t discourage women from having Caesarian births when they are medically necessary. As for why the increase in Csections is happening, she said the reason isn’t perfectly clear, but it may be in part because midwives aren’t often used and obstetricians are typically rushed.