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Doctors Throw Blows in Delivery Room, Endanger Baby

By On · Add Comment · In c-section, cesarean, delivery room, doctors, fistfight, Italian, medical mistakes, public hospital, Sicily, universal health care

The fight over cesareans has gone international…and violent.  Two Italian doctors are being blamed for the botched delivery of a newborn that have led to complications for both the mother and son, after the doctors got into a fistfight in the delivery room.  Medical mistakes UFC-style.

According to reports, the mother Laura Salpietro, 30, had to have her uterus removed and her son, Antonio, suffered heart problems and possible brain damage following his birth last Thursday in a Messina, Sicily public hospital.  The two doctors, one a state hospital employee, the other a private doctor hired by Salpietro as a gynecologist, disagreed on whether the patient should have a C-section.  The disagreement turned to blows.

Sapietro’s husband, Matteo Molonia, said the fight delayed the C-section by over an hour leading to the complications.  This has become a big story in the country, forcing the Italian health minister to traveled to Sicily on Monday to apologize to the woman.

The fiasco is only one of a number of errors plaguing the southern Italian region infamous for its high rate of medical mistakes.  Not lost on me is one significant detail of the Italian health system.  Yep, you guessed it–universal health care.

As a result of the entitlement-based system is an explosion of private doctors available to people that can afford them.  I have predicted the same to happen here in the U.S. if nationalization of our system continues to grow.  People that can afford it will hire private doctors to get around the inadequacies of government-run hospitals.  Just a conclusion of deductive reasoning, that’s all.

What has made this particular situation tragic is that the patient decided to have her birth in a public hospital with a private doctor present.  Duh!  I guess she learned the hard way that doctors can be territorial, literally and figuratively, and if she has followed common practice she would have given birth at a private clinic instead. 

This story also highlights the dramatically high C-section rates in Italy in general, and Sicily specifically.  According to reports, approximately 38% of all births in Italy are done by C-section, more than twice the 15% recommended by the World Health Organization. In Sicily rates reach 52%.  In other parts of Italy, Campania–the southern mainland region that includes Naples– for instance, C-section rates have reached 60%.

I have said in several posts, this is a major issue.  C-section are way over-prescribed, and experts believe the trend will continue.  Although many reasons for recommending C-section exist, most thinkers agree it is too high.

So keep your wits about you, America.  Don’t ignore the inevitable problems associated with universal health care.  It ain’t the panacea it’s being sold as.  If you can’t see the flip side from our friends in Europe, then you’ve let your blinders fall too far.  My condolences to the Molonia/Salpietra family–I hope it turns out okay.

Elective C-section May be Hip, but…

By On · Add Comment · In breathing problems, c-section, cesarean section, childbirth, elective c-section, lungs

Birth by cesarean section (c-section) has doubled in the last ten years. Statistics show that one in three American babies is now delivered by cesarean. A c-section is a form of childbirth where a surgical incision is made through a woman’s abdomen and uterus to extract the baby (or babies). While many of these procedures are medically necessary–to save the life of the mother or baby–a large number of women are electing to have cesarean sections as their first option, that is, without trying to deliver vaginally. In fact, elective c-section is all the rage in Hollywood today, with many a young starlet opting for one (or two as is purportedly the case with this out-of-control Hoochie Mama).

But, once again, I must point out that surgery is not without risks. This is especially true for the now routine c-section: Recent research shows that babies delivered by non-emergency c-section have a four times greater chance of having breathing problems. According to Anne Hansen of the Aarhus University Hospital, Denmark, one of the lead researchers in the study, the greatest risk is seen when the procedure is performed early on–before the 39th week of pregnancy. Therefore, she states, if a woman is going to elect for this procedure, it probably shouldn’t be done before this time. It is as of yet unclear why babies born by cesarean might have breathing difficulties, but researchers believe that stress hormones produced by the mother during labor actually help the baby’s lungs mature.

C-sections, without a doubt, are a blessing to any family who has had the horror of experiencing a dangerous labor. There was a time when either mother or baby, or both, might be lost during difficult birthing. Thanks to c-sections, though, many lives have been spared; and probably everyone reading this has a loved one in the world today because of this blessed procedure. But saying that, isn’t it a shame that so many women are choosing not to experience the incredible process of giving birth the old fashioned way? Aside from the bond that is established between mother and child during this laborious process, there must be physiological, hormonal, and–excuse my metaphysics, but–energetic benefits to the entire process. To just bypass this most natural act, this integral part of our evolution, seems a bit detached to me. What’s next? Portable colostomy bags? I mean, what the heck–it’s uncomfortable and…I really can’t be bothered, so…sheesh.

Listen, this isn’t a morality trip but, unless you know it’ll be a hazard to your health or the health of your baby, don’t opt out of the beautiful birthing experience. The labor is worth the pain. It was by far the greatest experience my wife and I have ever had (yes, better than mushrooms and whiskey, much better). And besides, it turns out it’s better for your baby too.

Check out this blogger’s hysterical take on elective c-sections.

And something on the more serious side.

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