When actor Aishwarya Rai Bachchan delivered a baby on Wednesday, she made a powerful statement: One is never too posh to push or too old for a natural delivery. The 38-year-old former Miss World won accolades from various city’s doctors for her “feat” at a time when every fourth woman in Mumbai undergoes a Caesarean section delivery instead of a natural one. Among women who are over 35 years of age, this statistic gets more skewed: one survey said 60% of them opted for a surgical delivery.
Aishwarya Rai should be held up as a role model for all moms-to-be. “With adequate ante-natal preparation and motivation, most women irrespective of their age can deliver their babies naturally.”
“Sometimes, an older mother is not given a choice by the doctor on whether she would like to deliver normally. It is taken for granted that older women should have Caesarean deliveries,” said a famous Gynaecologist in Mumbai. But he felt this could change, thanks to Aishwarya. “Now mothers-to-be will be aware of what they can and should do,” he said.
Studies have shown that today’s woman with her low threshold for pain is more likely than her mother to opt for a C-section.
In this rash of C-section deliveries, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan’s natural delivery could be a trend-setter. As both the Bachchan family as well as Seven Hills Hospital have not given out specific details of the birth, it is not known whether the actor opted for an epidural (a spinal shot of painkillers) during delivery. In fact, a former supermodel who is scheduled to deliver in the next few months, too, has told her doctor that she wants a natural delivery.
Another point is that, many women who opt to have children later in life have problem conceiving. “They take fertility treatment or opt for assisted reproductive processes to get pregnant. Such pregnancies are precious both from the point of view of the doctor as well as the patient. It is hence possible that many doctors advise such patients to undergo a C-section,” she said. If everything is fine during the pregnancy, then there is no reason why a mother shouldn’t opt for a natural delivery-no matter what the age.
a decision to opt for a C-section can be taken only after considering the weight and maturity of the child and the mother’s blood pressure and vaginal dilation.
A natural delivery has benefits for the child as well. “A child who goes through the labour process has better immunity, his\her gut is better colonized with beneficial bacteria and his\her lung mature better. “
