Childbirth Choices Debate

If a pregnant woman is close to term when she contracts swine flu, how should she birth the baby? I ask because I could swear I just heard on the news about a woman who was presenting with symptoms of swine flu, near term, and she was immediately given an emergency c/s, apparently before she was even confirmed to have H1N1. I can't find any articles about it, but I'm pretty sure that's what I heard.

What do you think? Should a flu-stricken mom be allowed to continue her pregnancy, and go into labor naturally, with the hope of a vaginal birth? Or should a c/s occur automatically? I'm not really "up" on why a c/s would be necessary, so if someone has info about that, I think it might make a good discussion topic.

So a woman is (theoretically) already very ill with a virus, her immune system already comprimised, and the medical professionals want to perform major, risky abdominal surgery on her?  For no real reason?

OMG, please say it is not so!

Okay, so I think I have found an article online about this case I was thinking of, but I'm still confused and not sure what to make of the situation. The story doesn't really give enough details or information, like how far along she was, why the c/s was indicated, etc. Why did pneumonia require her to be in a "medically-induced coma"? I've had pneumonia myself. I was given antibiotics and told to stay in bed until I got better. Could it have been because her body was compromised by the pregnancy? I'm confused.

Here's the link/article I found:

http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=news/health&id=7066973

By Ali Gorman, R.N.

COLLINGSWOOD, N.J. - October 15, 2009 (WPVI) -- It is being called a miracle birth as a woman with the H1N1 virus delivers a healthy baby boy.

29-year-old Karin McHugh of Collingswood was happy and healthy and expecting her first child until she got sick. It started with a cough, but as she explained on Good Morning America this morning, it quickly got worse.

"Then on Saturday, I couldn't even get out of bed, I was struggling to breathe, wheezing and just achy. I told my husband to take me to the hospital, something was not right," Karin said.

And something wasn't right. Chest X-rays showed her lungs were filled with fluid.

Doctors thought she had pneumonia. Karin was put on a respirator and had to undergo an emergency C-section. Karin was also tested for the H1N1 virus.

All this happened in July, just a month after hundreds of children reportedly got sick with flu-like symptoms at nearby Pennsauken Intermediate High School.

Health officials told Action News back then some students were tested for the H1N1 virus.

Karin tested positive for H1N1.

Fortunately, she delivered a healthy baby boy named Liam.

However, she wouldn't get to hold him for two months as she remained in a medically-induced coma.

"Once I knew Liam was okay, I just focused all my attention on Karin," Karin's husband Brian said.

"My heart stopped three times, they thought I had brain damage," Karin said.

But Karin was kept alive with the help of a machine known as an ECMO. It lets the heart and lungs rest as it does their work.

Miraculously, she survived and Liam is now a healthy 2 and a half month-old baby.

Karin says knowing what could happen she would have gotten the H1N1 vaccine if it had been available. As a reminder, pregnant women cannot get the flu-mist form the vaccine which is the one available now. But the shots are coming.

In the meantime, if you are pregnant and have flu symptoms, here are three important steps.

Number one: Stay home.
Number two: Call your doctor.
Number three: Seek immediate medical care if you have any difficulty breathing, pressure or pain in your chest, sudden dizziness, persistent vomiting or a fever that does not go away with Tylenol.

As far as *I* understand it swine flu is nailing pregnant women pretty hard with a very ravaging type of pneumonia. The immune system is already compromised during pregnancy so I imagine the opportunistic infections are finding it easier to take hold. I feel in this case a section was probably in everyone's best interest. The baby to be out and not at the mercy of his mother's ravaged body to support him, the mother to be able to get drugs/sedation that really isn't ideal in pregnancy and to only have to support her bodily needs, and the hospital's because they got healthy mother and baby.

I say this as a hardened natural birther.