Childbirth-Risking Your Life

That is the wake up call that I received when I heard a friend of a friend died during childbirth. This can still happen?  I mean with all the medical advances, more atuned doctors and nurses, ultrasounds, checking and double checking, etc... how can this still occur?  Granted, we do live in a country where having a baby is not as much as a risk compared to other countries, but it is still scary to think that it still happens.  I did not know this person, but I have a friend who grew up with her, and that is still a little too close to home for me.  The woman who died had a c-section and bled to death due to placenta accreta.  Placenta accreta is when the placenta attaches itself deep into the uterine wall and sometimes other organs.  I'm not sure exactly how deep it attached itself, but it was enough to cause hemorrhaging and thus her death.  At first I thought, did they not do an ultrasound and discover this ahead of time?  I mean, I had 5 or 6 ultrasounds during my pregnancies because I was at high risk(high blood pressure) , but I know someone who isn't high risk still has a couple ultrasounds.  Were they not prepared for this ahead of time?  It is just heartbreaking to think that this poor mother died on the operating table and possibly before even holding her baby.  Then I started reading more about the condition and even if they discover this condition, most of the time there is nothing they can do to treat it.  All they can do is monitor the situation, prepare for a c-section, perform a hysterectomy if necessary, and hope the mother doesn't start to hemorrhage.  In this case, they weren't so lucky.  I know as a mother we would put our own life at risk to save our children, but it is a huge lightblub flashing moment  that we already have put our life at risk just giving birth to them.  My husband and I have been contemplating on whether or not to have a 3rd child.  During my own pregnancies, we worried about me bleeding too much because my platelets were always low.  So, I couldn't even have an epidural with the worry I might bleed too much.  Then later I found out this was the lady's 3rd child.  I don't know if someone out there in the universe is trying to tell me something, but it makes me feel like 2 children is good enough for me and 3 is not meant to be.  It might seem ridiculous to not have a 3rd child because of what happened to this mother who I didn't even know personally, but it is just weird how my husband and I sat down and were seriously (not just lightly touching the subject) asking ourselves if we should have one more and said we would sleep on it.  Then the next day, we found all this out.  A message or coincidence?  I guess we'll have to do more soul searching. 
Now, I would like to take a moment and say "Thank you to all the Moms for putting your lives at risk by having a child.  Having a baby is truly a miracle that we take for granted.  WE ARE ALL HEROES!"

So what are your worries on childbrith?  I would like to hear from you!  Follow me on twitter @mysanityblog, become a member of my blog, and spread the love to your followers, family, friends,and enemies! (I don't discriminate)  :-)