Cry Baby

Welcoming a baby into the world is an experience filled with fears and concerns.

By KIRSTEN TATE
UNIVERSITY JOURNAL

Screaming and red, a baby’s first minutes in the world aren’t glamorous, but after being cleaned up, he or she become the parents’ perfect little angels.
And in this fast-paced world even newborns are greeting the world at a faster pace.
It used to be that most babies came naturally, without help from drugs or surgery. Now the number of Caesarean-section and induced-labor deliveries is rising.
There were 47,331 births in Utah in 2000, according to the Utah Department of Health and the Office of Vital Records and Statistics.
Of those births, 2,585 were born in Iron and Washington Counties.
Brent Skinner, a junior biology major from Richfield, and his wife, Diana Skinner, a sophomore undeclared major from Idaho Falls, Idaho, became parents to a daughter on Jan. 9.
They said one reason they decided to have Diana Skinner’s labor induced was for safety reasons.
“Her doctor is in St. George and it was easier to have it planned so the doctor could be there,” Brent Skinner said.
Another reason for the induction of labor was for family. Diana Skinner’s family lives in Idaho Falls and the couple wanted them to be there, Brent Skinner said. Planning the birth helped ensure the family could make arrangements for the trip.
According to the Utah Department of Health the number of induced labor births has risen from 15.63 per 100 births in 1992 to 27.43 per 100 births in 1998.
The Department of Health reported that Caesarean section and complication rates were lower among women who were induced. However, “induction was associated with increased hospital costs and length of stay,” the report continued.
Diana Skinner’s hospital stay was overnight with a fast recovery, Brent Skinner said.
Delivery by Caesarean section has been lower in Utah than the national average, the Web site hlunix.hl.state.ut.us/matchiim/ main/c-section/home.htm reported.
According to the Web site, delivery of an infant by Caesarean section can be a lifesaving operation for both the mother and infant.
However, it has been suggested that the procedure is being performed more often than medically necessary because there

 

Babies are not as prestine as some people would like to think when they first enter the world. In the past babies were brought into this world without the aid of surgery or drugs. Today, Caesarean section and induced labor have become increasingly popular. Families who opt to use these methods may for childbirth often do so for safety and convenience.
PHOTOS BY LEEF SMITH / WASHINGTON POST

are so many births by this method.
In 1997, there were 15.9 Caesarean-section births per 100 hospital deliveries in Utah, according to the Utah Department of Health.
Welcoming a baby into the world is an experience filled with fears and concerns, the Skinners said.
Brent Skinner said one of his biggest fears was the health of his wife.
“I was worried about her health and if she would have any complications,” he said. “Everything went so well, I was just waiting for something to go wrong, but it didn’t.”
Brent Skinner said his second fear was that the baby would “come out” something different than what the doctors said it would be.
“We got all excited for a girl because that is what they said it was, but then we heard horror stories about how the doctors said one thing, and then the baby was something different,” he said.