I was prepared for C-section but taken for normal delivery: Prof. Ipshita Bansal

Devdiscourse launched a global campaign titled "Mother, Not Patient!" (#mothernotpatient) in association with Bhagat Phool Singh Mahila Vishwavidyalaya (Bhagat Phool Singh Women's University) on Tuesday, October 15, 2019 at the university campus. Prof. Ipshita Bansal, Dean, Academic Affairs, BPSMV, the premiere woman university in India was invited to share her thoughts on the campaign.

Firstly, I must thank Dr Deepali Mathur for organizing and collaborating with Devdiscourse in creating this campaign titled “Mother, Not Patient!” and making me a part of it.

It’s my pleasure to listen to my previous speakers and through the overall discussions, multiple aspects have emerged although the similar thread is passing through all the discourses. Through Devdiscourse’s Mr Siddeshwar Shukla, we heard the genesis or the root behind the commencement of this campaign. I’m surprised hearing that he was stumbled when his pregnant wife was addressed as a patient and I must appreciate that he is a wonderful and sensitive husband. I must extoll him for his initiative. It was nice to hear from Dr G K Panda that they use the beautiful Sanskrit term “Garbhini” for the 'To Be Mothers' instead of patient. It’s really a wonderful word and I believe it should be used to respect the expectant mothers. I also came to know from Dr Saloni Gupta and Dr Rajeev Mahindru that the pregnant women are called patients in documents but generally addressed as expectant mothers. But in practice, I’ve also heard the expectant mothers to be called as 'patients'.

There are 3-4 facts that are running in the concept note. The increase in C-sections is one way responsible for the profiteering mindset of the health professionals, health departments and hospitals. And pregnant women are considered as patients till the delivery. In another way, they are being treated or convinced with strict restrictions. But when I see Hollywood movies, I get surprised to see the pregnant women involved in many actions and even doing yoga. And even I have seen they are running during the advance stage of delivery and nobody put severe restrictions on them. But in India, they are treated very differently. They are being asked so many things not to do.

Here I will share one of my remarkable experiences. Last year, I went to Himachal Pradesh. The lady of a nearby house, where I stayed in Himachal Pradesh, was pregnant and I came to know that in the past she had multiple miscarriages also. The hosts took me for sightseeing where once the steps were found quite difficult. I found her accepting the challenge with no hesitation. I asked her, “How do you manage to overcome these difficulties as these are so dangerous for your current situation?” She answered, “This is not an issue at all with us. My previous miscarriages had different reasons but I continue to do work, climb up the hills, do lots of things but nothing happens to us.”

Even when I was pregnant and was admitted to the hospital, there was also a lady whose mother was there. She said that she was also from a hill station. Whenever she needed to give birth, she would rush to her hill station and even on many occasions, she walked the hills. Her intention used to deliver baby in her hometown. But today I listen a lot from the women saying, “It’s being 8 months and it has become really troublesome and I want my baby to be delivered through C-section.”

On the other hand, I believe that the rise in the number of C-section is also the cause of profiteering mindset of the healthcare professions. I will give you an example. I know one couple who had a child and didn’t want another baby. After 10 years, the couple decided to have another child. Although they had some difficulty, finally the woman became pregnant. But when she visited a very renowned gynaecologist in her town, she was told that there was some problem and the baby should be aborted. Somehow, the father-in-law of that lady insisted the couple to take another opinion. Later it was found by another doctor that there was no problem in giving birth to that baby. The baby was born and now, I think, he is the brightest of all the kids in the family. There are several cases like this but as Dr. Saloni said, the professionals should be wise enough to take any final call – whether it may be abortion or c-section. Dr. Saloni also mentioned a vital point on the disadvantages of c-section which haunts the woman for her entire life. Even Dr Rajeev’s point was also very notable. When parents come to know that they are expecting a male child, they get passionate to get it operated without pondering over the negative consequences of c-section on the woman because the boy is considered important in society than anyone.

I will give my own example. I have given birth to twin girls. When I was at my last phase of pregnancy, the medical experts found one child was normally sitting inside the womb with head down, which I believe is considered normal. But another child was at the breech position. We were very worried about the situation but finally, I had a normal delivery. Thanks to my doctor who stayed for a longer period of time and had severe patience. Like Dr Saloni said many doctors prefer cesarean as it is done within an hour. But for normal delivery, doctors and nurses need to spend for hours. However, I had a normal delivery because during that time I heard normal delivery was good for both child and mother. My doctor wanted to have a normal delivery unless the situation turned worse. So, although I was prepared for C-section, but was taken for normal delivery. So, it depends on the doctors as well. So, we can’t say all the doctors opt for C-section from their profiteering mindset. There are many responsible doctors who dedicate their time behind the long process of normal delivery. In future, I will advise my daughters to opt for normal delivery. 

At the end of this beautiful program, I would like to thank all the speakers and campaign organizers for their severe endeavor in bringing a change in society. I strongly believe this campaign will be successful in bringing awareness among the people and healthcare professionals at large.

Visit Live Discourse for more news, views, and interviews on the global communication campaign - Mother, Not Patient!. Please click to sign the pledge and know more about the campaign. 

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed are the personal views of the author. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of Devdiscourse and Devdiscourse does not claim any responsibility for the same.)

Also Read: C-Section brings many complications, says Dr Saloni Gupta, OB-GYN, Abhishek Hospital