How disappointing that Dr Malloy seeks to make an opinion that will subject a large number of women to major abdominal surgery (caesareans) based on one study rather than on the large number of studies that show in selected conditions many breeches are safe.
One really has to question the capabilities of a doctor who is not up to delivering a well positioned breech. I believe we should possibly question whether the study he refers to and his own recommendations demonstrate the difficulties of breech delivery or the inadequacies of our obstetricians - if its too hard cut it out?
And there is that medico-legal argument again - so for whose benefit is the caesarean being done - the baby and mother - or the doctors? If something goes wrong and they are seen to have done "something" (caesarean) they are less likely to loose a case than if they have done "nothing" (natural birth). Maybe this attitude explains why Australia has a caesarean section rate that is almost double that recommended by the World Health Organisation.
Ultimately the choice should be the mother's and she should be given all the information on both sides of the argument so her choice can be an informed one. It is patriarchal and condescending of doctors to presume to make that choice for the mother or to deny her appropriate information to make a fully informed choice.
Lets see some outcomes from the recommendations of the Senate Enquiry into Childbirth (Rock the Cradle) 1999 and maybe then things will change.
Debby Miller
Arana Hills
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