Why are doctors obsessed with method of delivery?

[Mushroo]

I might be being oversensitive as I really wanted a ‘natural’ birth and ended up with a c-section from failure to progress.

But, if we see the Doctor for my daughter (now 19 months old) they will ALWAYS ask the method of delivery.

I understood when she was a tiny baby, but when do they stop asking? It makes me feel like I’ve let her down and her medical issues are due to the c section.

What are the reasons they ask and when do they stop? Will I still be being asked when she’s 16?!

In my ADHD referral form (I am in my 40s) and I was asked in that how I was born. There is an option for don't know 🤣

It's relevant to some things because of likelihood of oxygen deprivation at birth although I'm not sure how this helps since presumably an emergency c section is much higher risk for that than an elective.

They do keep asking - when my daughter was 13 and going through an autism assessment I was asked. It does seem a bit frustrating to be asked so many years later but as others have said it's often asked to try and fill in any problems that could be presenting now e.g. I was asked was I ill during a pregnancy as one of my children has teeth issues which can be because I had a lack of nutrients at the time the teeth were being formed. It was true but stung that apparently me being ill has resulted in my child's baby teeth being damaged.

I still get asked for my little boy who's 3.5 and was even asked at a consultant appt at GOSH last year for a cerebral palsy diagnosis even though she had the full birth history infront of her. But he does have a brain injury from birth so I expect it.

@Fragmentedbrain oh god, I better settle in for the long haul then! 😂

They may not know yet. Collating thousands of birth records and eczema outcomes led to that conclusion. They will be doing the same for childhood illness, right now, using your data.

It can have lifetime implications for things like gut issues (although my cs child had no issues one of my vb ones did).

I understand where you’re coming from. I desperately wanted a natural birth too becausei didn’t want to be induced, was induced anyway and ended up with an emergency Caesarean.

Both natural births and C-sections come with their own risks. The doctors will highlight the main ones, like recovery time, infection risk, options for future births. But at the time of delivery the main concern is to get the baby out safely.

There isn't anything to say that your section is the cause of any illness and nothing you need to do aside from what any parent would do when their children are poorly. Them asking you is for thier information, not for you to take action.
Feeling responsibility is of course part of being a parent, but feeling guilty can be a slippery slope where you worry and feel guilty about every little thing. Try not to let it eat at you - being a mum is hard enough without it!

This is a really useful point, thank you. I hope they are using the data.

It doesn’t stop. My youngest is 16, I am asked for my own personal health* if I see the GP. It’s not a good/bad question either - it’s a if you had birth A) then they need to pay more attention to these possible scenarios whereas if you went through birth B) we need to pay more attention to other scenarios.
*Depending on what you are seeing the GP for, obviously.

Sorry but that's factually incorrect. A C section has much worse outcomes for both mother and baby. My DH and I have done extensive research on this. In saying that, usually we don't get to choose the birth we want and the safest and less risky option at the time is what's best

@MushrooYou would not have made a different decision. No C section is performed without good reason and your baby wasn’t being born. I assume she was stuck. So what options did you have? You got hung up on natural birth being best instead of being pragmatic. I would just let it go. It’s in the past and your baby is alive and well. Be glad the doctors delivered her safely - that’s all that matters.

I'm a paediatrician. I mostly ask because it's just part of the list of questions I ask. It rarely changes anything. It's a lead in to finding out if there was a set up for hypoxia, nothing more, nothing less. I could probably get the same by asking if there were any complications, but different people have different thresholds for what constitutes complicated and it helps me introduce the topic. I'm not doing it for microbiome reasons (wouldn't alter my management of anything) and I'm not judging you (had 4 myself).

We ask it because we've all been trained to ask it and it's occasionally relevant if the birth has been super traumatic. But if I hear "c-section, but baby well after and didn't need resuscitation", I am absolutely as happy as I am with "normal delivery, baby well after and didn't need resuscitation".

This is really useful, thank you

Guess what I got asked when my daughter was 17 and being assessed for autism.

I don’t believe a c-section does inherently carry any risks to the baby. They are looking to build up a picture and lots of things are relevant. My first child was 16 days late, instrumental delivery but still vaginal. All relevant in building up a picture. (Yep, he has special needs!)

Maybe if she had a long traumatic delivery with oxygen deprivation, use of forceps etc they think it might be relevant. She's still a baby no they won't still be asking when she's 16.

I get asked about my own birth in initial appointments with some consultants for my mental health! In my case normal vaginal delivery but delivered in distress and very quickly on the ward. They were assessing my mum for an emergency c section but found I was making an entrance under my own volition!

My dad has a stroke in his 50s and he was asked about his birth when seeing consultants trying to work out the causes after an unusual autoimmune condition was proposed. His potential has more relevance though as he was born very prematurely and was only 2lb at birth in the 60s

I think they just ask it to sound like they’re looking into everything and making an informed decision, but really it means very little (if anything) at all. I do think a doctors appointment is a two way thing, so you are entitled to ask (nicely) why that might be relevant to the situation.

What a shitty thing to post when the OP is already suffering unneccesary guilt.

Amazing that in all this research you haven't come across the fact that C-sections are often medically necessary and therefore a much better outcome for mother and baby than a stillbirth.

Lol, I was just asked this by a doctor today when having my son referred to sleep paeds and he is 6.

It is relevant though. Method of delivery impacts organs, can put your child at increased risk of infection, early infections can lead to developmental problems and so on.

At the first appointment is really is a catch all sort of question because it isn't always relevant but it's good information to have just in case.

It was especially relevant at my sons autism appointment because he was an ELCS baby who retained a lot of chest mucus, developed kidney issues and went on to develop meningitis within 4 weeks and they had to rule out other potential causes that could contribute to the symptoms seen.

Did you know octopuses have 3 hearts?

My comment is as relevant to yours to OPs post.

OP it sounds like some posters with medical knowledge have given you some helpful insight. Please do try and reframe your experience as one that was a successful birth. I understand this is difficult to do and it may be worth following up on birth stories with your unit?

My son is 17 amd being investigated for a heart issue and they asked me that recenlty so, yes, aways to go.

My impression is they're trying to determine if there was any birth trauma, whcih might have health inplications, not the mechanism of delivery (he was my only totally normal vag birth, ironically )

It’s medically relevant. It’s not to judge you. Youre taking it too sensitively.

I had chronic eczema in childhood and have had to put up with it occasionally all my life but I have never heard of a link between this and csection delivery. I was not a csection baby. My children were (one emm (also 'failure to progress' back to back) and second last minute elective)). Eldest has occasional mild eczema but no surprise as I had it so badly myself as a child.

I think the way your baby came into the world feels like a big deal when your children are young and you are surrounded by other parents and babies/children and it comes up in conversation (and you get asked by GP's etc.) but now when I look up at my tall, beautiful adult children I just thank God, modern medicine and some marvelous doctors that they arrived safely into this world. I promise you, OP that these feelings will fade.