From the drama of a student who wanted to abandon her baby out of fear of her parents, to the fear that epidural anesthesia leaves you paralyzed or that the state hospital is dangerous, Prof. Dr. Monica Cîrstoiu, obstetrician-gynecologist, with 26 years of experience at Bucharest University Emergency Hospital (SUUB), breaks the silence about critical moments in the delivery room and explains why Romania has reached a huge boom of cesarean sections.
The story of a student who was about to give birth, but didn’t know she was pregnant
Beyond ultrasound screens and cold hospital protocols, childbirth remains the most intense roller-coaster of a woman’s life. It’s not an exam you have to pass perfectly, and it’s not a competition based on internet myths or dramatic stories on forums.
Univ. Prof. Dr. Monica Cîrstoiu, Head of the Obstetrics-Gynecology Clinic at the Bucharest University Emergency Hospital (SUUB), a doctor with a 26-year career in life support and a mother beyond the white coat, recalls a case that profoundly marked the beginning of her journey:
“I was a young intern and in 2001, a 22-year-old student came to the ward complaining of pelvic pain. I consulted her and told her that we were admitting her because in the next 30 minutes she would become a mother. She cried… She did not know that she was pregnant and wanted to abandon her child for fear of the parents who were in the province and obviously did not know this aspect.
I convinced her to talk to them, she asked me to talk to her mother too, and in the end they all went home. The grandparents were very excited to meet their grandson, hold him in their arms and enjoy the new life that appeared like a miracle in their lives.
For us, as medical personnel, the most emotion appears in the soul when we hear the victorious cry of the newborn and when we bring him to the mother’s chest immediately after birth”, says Prof. Dr. Monica Cîrstoiu.
How motherhood changes the way a doctor views labor
The dual perspective of doctor and mother brings added empathy to the labor room. “I try to combine being a doctor and being a mother. The experience of being a mother offers the rare advantage of simultaneously seeing the mechanics of birth and its emotional dimension. From a professional perspective, you watch for maternal and fetal safety and quickly appreciate signs of labor progress or fetal risk. But the experience of being a mother often changes perception. It’s no longer just “dilation 8 cm” or a “primiparous” that does not cooperate. Every contraction of the pregnant woman has an emotional charge, not just a physiological one.
The small gestures: the tone of voice, the patience, the explanations we give take on much more weight. During labor, many women do not remember all the technical details, but they remember very clearly if they felt listened to, if they were spoken to calmly and if they felt that someone was “with them”, not just “above them”, adds the specialist.
Why are we afraid of natural birth?
Fear of natural childbirth is extremely common and does not mean that a mother-to-be is “weak” or unprepared. It arises from a combination of pain, negative stories, fear of complications (rupture, bleeding, emergency interventions), lack of control, but also because of the chaotic way birth is sometimes represented in movies.
In the midst of these fears, Dr. Monica Cîrstoiu lays down a golden rule: “No matter how you choose to give birth, there is only one central element: the mother and the child must be well. It does not matter what others think about you or how a perfect mother should be. For you and your child, the most precious thing is safety. “Natural birth” should not be seen as a test of value. For some women it is a powerful and beautiful experience, for others it is not. The main goal remains life”.
Boom in cesarean births in Romania
Romania ranks first in Europe in the number of cesarean operations. The national average of cesarean births exceeded the 60% threshold in Romania. At the Bucharest Emergency University Hospital (SUUB) this percentage is even higher, at 70%, but the maternity ward of the health unit is of level III and takes on the most complex pathologies and critical cases from the whole country.
In certain private hospitals in the country, where medical services are paid and patients can choose dedicated packages, the percentage exceeds 80%well above the World Health Organization (WHO) recommendation of 10–15%.
The doctor states, however, that Romanian women are fully capable of giving birth naturally, as it is about the possibility of choosing according to their own option and medical indications:
“There is no such thing as a good or bad birth, there is an uncomplicated birth or a birth with more complications. Typically, the course is very good after a natural birth, with the patient-mother being able to move around easily from the first hour and interact with the newborn, which she can nurse.
Fear is significantly reduced when future parents participate in prenatal courses, talk openly with the doctor or midwife, understand the stages of labor, have a birth plan and receive constant support”, explains the doctor, noting that a free “School of Parents” course takes place at SUUB every month.
State versus private birth: What mistakes expectant mothers make when choosing a hospital
Many patients choose the hospital where they will give birth only based on aesthetic or financial criteria, which can be risky in case of major emergencies.
“Every mother has the right to choose the doctor who monitors her pregnancy, the doctor with whom she will give birth, the type of delivery and the hospital. Many women choose to give birth at the state for practical, medical and financial reasons, not just because of a lack of alternatives.
Among the frequent reasons are lower costs (the birth being settled through the public system), access to very well developed neonatal intensive care for premature babies or complications, permanent experience with emergencies and the possibility of rapid transfer between specialties (anesthesia, surgery, neonatology, ATI) in the same structure. Although the hotel conditions are sometimes worse in the state, the chance of life is much higher in the case of severe complications in a fully equipped ATI ward”, emphasizes Prof. Dr. Monica Cîrstoiu.
The most common mistakes identified by the doctor:
- The choice only according to the appearance of the reserve: Hotel conditions matter, but the team’s ability to resolve an extreme emergency within seconds is vital.
- Failure to prepare for the unexpected: When patients are transferred urgently from small clinics to SUUB, intense states of anxiety arise because of sudden complications.
- Confusion of natural birth with no interventions: Sometimes minimal medical interventions are the very ones that save the life of mother and child.
Epidural myth: Does it paralyze or prevent pushing?
Epidural anesthesia is still surrounded by many urban myths: that it leaves you paralyzed, that you can no longer push, or that it causes back pain for the rest of your life.
“The myth that the epidural causes paralysis is one of the most widespread, but in medical reality, permanent paralysis after an epidural is extremely rare. The procedure is performed exclusively by an anesthetist and is considered extremely safe. Also, the idea that “you can no longer push if you have an epidural” is false: the epidural greatly reduces acute pain, but most women still feel the pressure of contractions and can push effectively.
The idea that “you have to endure pain to be a real mother” is just a social myth, not a medical one. The choice of analgesia is personal and says nothing about a woman’s ability to be a mother. As a proportion, at our clinic, half of the mothers request analgesia during childbirth (epidural type or analgesia with entonox), while the rest want to give birth as naturally as possible, without additional medical interventions”, explains the doctor.
“The Tripod of Life”: The Relationship Between Doctor, Midwife, and Mother
In countries such as the Netherlands or Great Britain, midwives preside over low-risk births, while in Romania the regulatory framework requires the presence and responsibility of a doctor. However, the support a midwife provides in labor is irreplaceable.
“The midwife provides a greater sense of security, stays with the mother longer than the doctor, offers continuous explanations, constant human support, calmness and validation. She helps the woman to breathe, relax and understand the phases of labor. The collaboration between the doctor, midwife and pregnant woman is, in fact, a tripod in which each element is of major importance, with the goal of a healthy newborn and a happy mother”, says Dr. Monica Cîrstoiu.
To all future mothers who are preparing for this step, the doctor leaves them with one thought, the most important: “Every mother is strong and will manage to give birth, regardless of which way, the child.” In the opinion of Prof. dr. Cîrstoiu, who dispelled the anti-caesarean myths that recently appeared on street signs in Bucharest, “you are not much more of a mother if you gave birth naturally”.
Children who are born at the maternity hospital of the Bucharest University Emergency Hospital receive “Kangaroo” therapy, a standard practice that involves skin-to-skin contact, being applied including to children born prematurely or those with low birth weight, regardless of whether they were born naturally or by caesarean section.
Source: Libertatea
