Vaginal Birth or Caesarean -Section In the Nigerian Context; Myths and Choices

Vaginal Birth or Caesarean -Section In the Nigerian Context; Myths and Choices

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By Nnenna Joseph

You will give birth like the Hebrew women is one of the most common prayers said to expectant mothers in this part of the world. According to the Bible, in Exodus 1 vs 19, “The Hebrew women are not like Egyptian women; they give birth easily, and their babies are born before either of us gets there.”

In the stone age, women had linear methods of child delivery which was limited to the baby coming out through the vagina after the woman pushes the baby in a systematic method a number of times. It will be referred to in this article as Vaginal birth. Complications resulting from vaginal birth cost women their lives. When a woman is unable to push forth a child, the baby and mother may die in the womb.

However, there came a time in the roman empire where there was a need to increase the population under the Roman emperor, Julius Caesar. The Roman law under Caesar decreed that all women who were so fated by childbirth must be cut open and the child saved; hence, it got its name cesarean operation subsequently renamed Cesarean section (C-section).
Another early practice of cesarean section is attributed to religion wherefore religious edicts enforce that the infant must be buried separately from the mother.

There are other methods of childbirth which include Natural birth, Vaginal birth, Scheduled cesarean, unplanned cesarean, Vaginal birth after C-section, scheduled induction.

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From their names, one can tell their attributes and characteristics. For the purpose of this article, we will dwell on the Cesarean section and vaginal birth.

Nigeria has one of the world’s highest maternal mortality rates. According to Wiley online library, in 2019, One hundred and forty‐five Nigerian women die in childbirth every day and 53,000 women per-year according to a UNICEF report. One reason Patients often decline C-sections, even when it could save lives: C-sections are stigmatized in Nigeria. This causes many women to resist the surgery, or hide it when they do go through with it. Most women keep it a secret from members of their family. If you tell Nigerians that you are going to go through the Caesarean section, they will tell you, God forbid. This is a function of misguided religious and traditional misconceptions.

In Northern Nigeria, the religion they practice and their traditional beliefs do not hamper on these things. If a northern expectant mother decides not to use C-section it is a function of her inability to raise the finance required. The above assertion is prevalent in southern Nigeria.

Religion convinced southern women they have to deliver like “Hebrew women” therefore they want nothing to do with C-section because God will always see them through. Oftentimes than not, 99.9% of these women die in the process of trying to push.

Another misgiving is, women who are unable to give birth through the vagina are said to be weak, it is translated that the woman does not have the strength to push a baby therefore has to resort to help by cutting her open. Women who go through with this are stigmatized and seen as fewer women than others. Women are seen bragging about their ability to give birth to their children through the vagina, using the emphasis to shame women who couldn’t.

Another prevalent factor is finance. Given that C-section is more expensive than vaginal birth, many women are led into the misconception that instead of spending more, they should give it one last try/push to get the baby out. Sadly, most lose their lives and/or their babies in this process.

Without sounding like a broken record, husbands of these women or the father of the baby who the financial burden rests on, owing to their own misgivings, pressure the women into rejecting the C-section. We have heard men who say once the baby is not male, it is pointless “wasting” finances on a C-section.

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Lewu, a writer recalls a tragic incident of a woman who was booked for a C-section during her second pregnancy. Her husband – insistent that she have t
he baby on her own – moved her to another hospital where she ended up in labor for two days before the baby died and she needed surgery to have it taken out. She ruptured her bladder and developed infections, leading to three more surgeries and a hysterectomy. “She was 31 and she had no baby,” said Lewu. “Those are the extreme end of people that don’t want a C-section.”

Another angle to mourn is mothers who believe they birth their daughter through vaginal delivery, therefore, their daughter in turn should not undergo a C-section. They most likely end up in church or mosque praying for a miracle.

We have also seen a myth that more women die from C-section, owing to its origin which was usually a save-the-child procedure, women were made to believe that once C-Section is mentioned, it meant the woman is going to die. Statistically, C-section results in complications, this does not mean that there aren’t complications from vaginal birth. C-section procedure has saved the lives of so many mothers and children. There are specialists who have a 0.0001% mortality rate in Nigeria. They have closed the gap such that a C-section can be ultimately regarded as 99.99% safe.

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In recent times, women have been educated better, informing them that a C-section is not a death sentence, neither should they let religion and other factors detect how they give birth to their child. We have seen more women embrace C-section, especially women who are between the ages of 35 downwards.

However, women have noticed that a C-section has fewer chances of complication than the vaginal birth and more women have started to embrace it. Women are given a choice of a C-section regardless of their ability or otherwise to have a vaginal birth.

This means that a pregnant woman can decide to have a C-section because she feels it guarantees her some form of safety when she is in good hands, even if she has been told by the doctor she can have a vaginal birth.

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We have equally seen women who say they do not want their vagina to expand after childbirth so they simply opt for C-section even if they are considered fit for a vaginal birth.

Shocking: Pregnant Woman Dies At Child Birth. See Reason

This has raised a conversation among men on social media platforms, for example,

Is it appropriate for your wife, who can have a vaginal birth to decide she wants a C-section (in situations where the finance is abundant or not)?

Is it a sign of “laziness” for a woman to decide she wants a C-section to avoid the numerous complications that come from childbearing.
Is it a sign of promiscuity for your wife to decide she does not want her vagina expanded after sex because she wants to enjoy sex, and keep it tight for her husband to enjoy too.

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Proponents say a woman’s body belongs to her and she will do what’s best for her while opponents say a woman should stand for what is right, avoid waste, and fulfill her God-giving natural birth method.

In conclusion, here are the salient assertions to pick from this piece

C-section is an alternative birth method, among other birth methods

C-section is a method that allows women who are medically unable to give birth through their vagina to have children of their own, stay alive to nurse them.
There are other methods of childbirth, speak with your doctor and do what works for you.

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Women who are unable to give birth through the vagina are stigmatized especially in Nigeria. This should not be so, body types differ from creation, it is not the woman’s making at all.

Dear Christians, “Hebrew women” is any woman who gives birth and comes home with a child and is equally alive, the method of delivery is inconsequential.

A developing research has shown that complications abound more in Vaginal birth than C-section. One can understand why some women opt for it.

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As a husband, understand that your woman knows her body more than you do, and stands a better chance to do what’s best for her than your preoccupied school of thoughts.

If finances get tight, talk to friends and relatives, no amount equals the life of your wife and child.

In a case where finance is tight and she has the
option of vaginal birth, as man and wife, discuss it and meet each other in the middle.

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