17/12/2024
I know that I'm not the only one who eye-rolled into oblivion when reading the Guardian app this morning... and then the BBC app after.
So, why is this reporting so bloody annoying?
Well, firstly, it's inaccurate. One in four would be 25% and for 25% to be accurate then they would be counting only planned caesareans where the woman did not go into labour prior to the operative birth.
If we add in those births where the woman laboured prior to the casearean then the actual figure is 42%.
So really this is simply lazy journalism.
On top of this it punches down onto women for both their size and age... and really, haven't we done with that yet? It simply isn't evidence based and it is horribly misogynistic.
If these reports worried you because you feel that your wonderful body may be an issue for birth I highly recommend grabbing a copy of 's excellent book 'Plus Size Pregnancy', where she dismantles this kind of nonsense page after page. Getting the right info for birth is so important and clearly our press isn't doing a great job!
And remember, there is absolutely nothing wrong with caesarean birth (my twins and I are very thankful for it) but we do need to be very honest that a 42% rate is pretty scary.
I assure you that we wonderful women are NOT the problem though.
Melanie x
