Spotlight on childbirths

              When the "first lady" of the land gave birth recently to Johi Vm Kennedy Jr., attention was fo cused anew on the Cesarean sec tion.
When the same method was used to deliver the son of the late Gark Gable, Interest mounted.
Over coffee cups, across bridge tables, wherever women gathered the Cesarean section became ar all-absorbing topic of conversation.
As the women discussed this ©nce-dreaded form of surgery, conflicting opinions arose. Some insisted that once a woman had a Cesarean all her future babies would have to be delivered in the iame manner. Others held to the ©Id-fashioned belief that a Cesarean is extremely dangerous, with r high mortality rate. Equally confused were those who maintained a Cesarean is much easier on the mother than normal delivery.
"I'm going to ask my doctor to perform a Cesarean on me the next time I have a baby/' an-
Bounced one young matron. "That way I won't have to go through mil tht bother of labor." TRUE FACTS
What are the true facts about ft Cesarean?
We talked to Dr8 James G, Mule, associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the Louisiana State university medical school.
•JTiis is what he told us: 1. A Cesarean section is a relatively safe procedure these days. j&. In this area, between S^ and 7 per cent of all deliveries are Cesar eans.    -\
3.  The old belief that once a Cesarean,  always  a  Cesarean Is no longer true.
4.  There are cases on record ©f mothers giving birth to as many as 1% children with the aid ©f a Cesarean.
5.  A baby should be delivered In the normal way unless there are very good obstetrical indications for a Cesarean.
6.  The second surgeon to per-totm a Cesarean In the United States was Dr. Francois Marie Prevost of Donaldsonville,
Dr# Mule said half a century ago, A Cesarean section was attempted only as a last resort,
"Naturally the death rate was
high," he addedV "they waitec unfil the patient had gotten intc an extreme amount of difficulty before they attemped the Cesa rean, Also It was not uncommor In those days to peform the op ©ration after the mother wai dead."
Dr, Mule said "when such sur gery is indicated today, we per form it without hesitation."
"It is not difficult to save_botl
mother and child, what with modern medicines, specialization, g6od anesthesia, good anesthetists and better post-operative care," he added.
But even with all of these advantages, warned the obstetrician, a Cesarian section should never be performed indiscriminately.
"You can't improve on nature," said the LSU professor. "The other day I overheard one woman saying to another, 'Weren't you lucky to have a Cesarean? No labor pains or anything." MAJOR SURGERY
Dr. Mule said, "What this woman apparently didn't realize is that a Cesarean is major surgery."
"A patient undergoing a Cesarean has to go through the same recovery period as a patient undergoing any other form of major
surgery," he explained. "Certainly a Ktle discomfort from labor is preferable."
Dr. Mule said a mother undergoing a Cesarean section must remain in tlie hospital for at least | seven days. A mother giving birth to a baby through normal delivery usually remains in the hospital only half this time, he added.
Only when nature cannot perform properly does the OB step in to circumvent disaster, said jthe physician.
Indications for a Cesarean section, he added, include, a small pelvis, placental hemorrhage, a previous  Cesarean  section and the existence of medical conditions would make labor detrimental to the mother. "Certainly a Cesareean section is a more expedient type of a delivery when the baby is lying in an abnormal position or when the mother's uterus is not functioning properly," said Dr. Mule,
"This is also true for some mothers who have severe complications with pregnancy such as diabetes or toxemia and labor cannot be initiated at a desirable time."
Hie obstetrician sad the old belief, once a Cesarean, always a Cesarean, is no longer true. "The incidence of return to normal delivery as opposed to repeated Cesarian Sections" he added "varies considerably in different areas. This mode of management is more frequent in the British Isles and Australia." "It must be understood that the