Need for Cesarean

My wife is 38 weeks pregnant. Here is a brief summary of our situation: Our doctor is suggesting that we should go for Cesarean delivery immediately, as she sees no chance of normal delivery. She gave her the following reasons for this: 1. baby head is free 2. cervix length is 3.5 cms 3. Loose cord around the neck. Please suggest us if these reasons are good enough for us to decide for cesarean delivery?

Caesarian section or not?

I think you should go on what your wifes Obstetrician advises. I'm not an Obstetrician, but did have undergraduate training in OBGYN.

The main issues as I see it are the cord around the neck which can lead to strangulation via vaginal delivery and the fact that the cervix is already partly dilated at 38 weeks. The 3 reasons are definitely all valid.

I have personal experience with a caesarean section myself and I wouldn't hesitate to make that call if I was advised by the Obstetrician to go for one.

Comment by Rachel

You didn't mention whether this is your wife's first baby or not. It's very common in a first pregnancy for the baby not to "drop" until labor begins. Your wife still has about two weeks until she is considered term, and if your OB is honest with you she will tell you that for first time mothers the average term birth (if not induced) is at 41 weeks. In fact, ACOG, your OB's professional practice organization, says that nothing should be done (in terms of induction or intervention to hurry delivery) until the completion of 42 weeks. Vaginal checks of the cervix will tell a doctor whether the cervix is still back or has moved forward to a more favorable position, if it has begun to shorten and soften, and if she is dilating (at that moment in time). It tells the doctor nothing about when the mother will give birth because all those things happen differently with each mother and each birth, and it's quite possible that there will not be dramatic changes until much closer to when your wife would naturally go into labor, or even after labor has begun. A cord around the neck is common, occurring in up to 1/3 of all births and rarely causes problems. It is not considered a valid reason for cesarean.

I have had both vaginal and cesarean deliveries. A cesarean is major abdominal surgery. Because it's so commonplace people seem to forget that recovering can be very difficult, especially with a new baby.

There are risks involved with cesarean, including a much higher mortality rate for the mother, as well as potential long-term complications. There are also risks to the baby.