Strollerderby : natural child birth

Childbirth Smackdown: It’s Called The Natural for a Reason

makeitadouble — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 13:00:00 GMT

We are a Nation doped up on hypocrisy and anesthetized to the double-standard wherein one group is pardoned for the same actions for which another is condemned.

One where the reputations and records of baseball immortals like 7-time Cy Young award winning pitcher Roger Clemens, All-time Home Run Champion Barry Bonds and former Viagra Spokesperson Rafael Palmerio are tarnished forever for a SINGLE positive drug test or for the ALLEGED use of performance enhancing drugs; yet it’s the same country in which women can openly, knowingly and brazenly take drugs during labor to enhance the performance of their delivery.

Am I pushing your buttons yet? If I am just know I’m pushing the natural way; without an epidural.

Natural child birth was all but abandoned in the 1980’s (the beginning of the Epidural Era) and by the early 90’s nearly 50% of all American women used epidurals during child birth; a number that is today closer to 90%. Is it a coincidence that this increase in delivery room drug use parallels the so-called Steroid Era in Baseball?

The hallowed halls of America’s National Pastime echo with the outcry from both the media and public claiming that performance enhancers such as Steroids and HGH have ruined the game, but if that is true than the floral printed halls of maternity wards nationwide should be echoing with the same critical chorus of disapproval condemning women who use Prostaglandins and Epidurals for ruining the miracle of childbirth.

Deep breaths now, there’s more.

Players who never once tested positive for drugs were nonetheless subpoenaed to testify before congress in 2005 and now again in 2008 about performance enhancing drugs in baseball, yet where are the subpoenas, the indictments, and the Grand Jury Testimony from woman who took shortcuts during labor to delivery the baby faster, avoid pain and essentially dishonor their unborn children?

The movie was called “The Natural” for a reason ladies. Roy Hobbs named his bat Wonderboy not Demerol. I’m sure Robert Redford agrees with me.

I demand that Congress get involved to rid childbirth of drugs once and for all and institute mandatory testing for woman one week prior and one week following the delivery of their babies. For mothers who test positive for drugs their children’s birth records should expunged from the public registry and an asterisk legally placed next to their name.

Maybe then expecting mothers will think twice before juicing during labor. Maybe then we can finally clean up the game.

Unassisted Birth -- Help Me Out

Madeline Holler — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 22:46:00 GMT

When I read stories about women who opt to give birth at home allllll by themselves -- no help from a midwife or a doctor or a staff of nurses -- I think to myself, "can you blame them?" I know, I know, a lot of you are thinking these people are just trying to be heroes or adhere to some kind of radical hippie code that shuns any relationship with established authority. Or you think they're narcissistic idiots who put their own childbirth dreams above the health and safety of an innocent child. Homebirth moms get that kind of talk too.

But I think all that's wrong. Quite wrong.

Pregnant women in the U.S. are in this totally weird position where our reproductive rights are, on both ends of the conception and pregnancy chronology, narrowing quickly. State judges, with the eventual help of the Supreme Court, are shrinking options on the early end of the spectrum. Doctors, hospital administrators, and insurance companies and legislatures (who make midwifery a crime) are taking away choices at the latter end.

Let's focus on the latter:

More than one third of all childbirth in the U.S. results in surgery -- a c-section. Some are, of course, necessary (but, like, 10 percent). A tiny percentage are the "too posh to push" variety and not indicated, but allowed (and hey, it's your choice, I won't stand in your way.). More are the "once-a-c-section-always-a-c-section," variety and then the rest, a significant number, could probably have been avoided all together.

It's the last two that, I think, push women to go the DIY route. In loads of hospitals all over the country, VBACs have been banned. Doctors and midwives are not allowed to do these vaginal births after ceseareans because of some studies that say there is an increased chance for uterine rupture in VBACs. Which may or may not be true, but that chance of which they speak is actually quite small. So what do you do? Avoid the hospital.

And avoidable c-sections? There a loads of ways to decrease one's risk of being pushed to have a c-section, but many can't be done in the hospital. Get in a tub, move around, stay off IV fluids, don't get hooked up to continuous fetal monitors, blah, blah, blah. They were in the birth plan! But the pressure! Look at what the quoted doctor has to say:

"What women need to appreciate is that the few hours of labor are the most dangerous time during the entire lifetime of the soon-to-be-born child," said Dr. Frank Chervenak, Chairman of Obstetrics and Gynecology at New York Presbyterian/Weill Cornell. "Because of this, I would argue ... all soon-to-be born children have a right to access immediate Caesarean delivery, and women who are denying this right are irresponsible."

So what do you do in your next pregnancy? That's right. Avoid the hospital and that attitude toward pregnancy and childbirth.

What about the child? Well there are risks to childbirth and those risks play out in different ways in each of the settings a woman might want to give birth in. Don't think women and babies don't die after childbirth in hospitals, which is NOT saying death in the hospital is certain and likely. Just like it's not certain and likely at home or unassisted.

What I'm trying to say is that women/patients/clients want what they want. Because there are so many possibilities. So many ways to do it right. So few ways that make it wrong (smoking crack comes to mind -- but who am I to judge?) Yet hospitals, midwives and doctors only allow for (without battles) a certain range of them. And that's fine for them and their jobs. But not fine for some women. So some women opt for birthing centers with midwives or doctors, or homebirth with midwives or (the few remaining homebirth) doctors. And some women opt to go it alone.

Unassisted birth is not for me, but like I said, who can blame them?

PS: Is it me or is that a fake belly on the woman in the picture? Just asking ...

Photo: ABC News

Midwife-Assisted Homebirth? Wussy.

Kelly Mills — Wed, 23 May 2007 15:34:00 GMT

Just when you thought your midwife-assisted homebirth was about as natural as you could get, enter the freebirth. (And this birth you cannot change... What?) Freebirthing (not to be confused with freeballing or freebasing, though I'd much rather do either) basically means having your baby at home, with no attendant. Proponents feel birth has been hyped up as a scary thing, when in fact, we've been doing it for thousands of years. I mean, it's not like women have been dying in childbirth for thousands of years...oh. But advocates contend that the main dangers of childbirth come from "poverty, intervention, and fear". If you've covered the first, an unattended birth is a matter of dealing with the latter two.

There's this quote from one freebirth practitioner: "Birthing uses the same hormones as lovemaking--so why would you want anyone poking and prodding you, observing you and putting you under a spotlight?" Number one: I'll give you the same hormones, but if (ugh) "lovemaking" felt anything like birthing, I'd be a virgin. Number two: doesn't lovemaking involve poking, prodding, and spotlights? Just me?

In any event, I don't really care that much if someone wants to give birth without a doctor, as long as I don't have to help. But as someone who imagined this natural birth and in retrospect wishes she got the epidural on arrival, I'm so not in the "beautiful, natural, just do that special breathing and find your woman-power" camp. I like doctors. I like midwives. I even like western medicine, especially when it can prevent lots of suffering and agony. And I don't think the fact that my birthin' crazy-insane hurt was in the least bit empowering. I was really grateful to the anesthesiologist after he gave me the epidural. Next time my wonderful doctor can chloroform me in the hospital like they used to do in the old days.

Do Natural Birth Centers put Mothers at Risk?

Sarah, Goon Squad Sarah — Mon, 07 May 2007 22:01:00 GMT

In the health section of Scotsman.com yesterday there was an article called Natural birth units 'putting mothers at risk'. The article says: "Up to a third of expectant mothers are rushed at the last minute to doctor-led labour suites because midwife-run wards cannot deal with medical complications or provide sufficient pain relief." Now, this article is based on research in Scotland and says that a lot of the problems are with first time mothers.

Obviously, this is causing a huge controversy where doctors and midwives are on opposite sides.

I have several friends that have recently given birth in birthing centers instead of hospitals. I know a lot of people who have done home births. I understand that women have been having babies for millions (or however old man is) of years without anesthesia and I know that it can be better for the baby.

I also know this: when my children were born I needed a blood transfusion. I had an emergency caesarian. I also had a very complicated pregnancy and odds are that the only reason my children both lived is because through modern medicine the doctors were able to delay childbirth for six weeks. I went into labor when I was 28 weeks pregnant. (Think of it as seven months.) Naomi Wolf is probably going to hate me for saying this but I thank my doctors and medical staff for saving my life and the lives of my twins.

That being said, even if I had gone into labor on my due date I still would have wanted an epidural and medical staff nearby. For me it just isn't worth the risk. I feel fortunate to live in a time where we have all of these wonderful medical tools (including painkillers) available to us.

I don't mean to slam midwives, I'm sure they are wonderful people. I am sure that a home birth without complications is a beautiful thing. I just like to hedge my bets, especially when it comes to my kids.

Ricki Lake's New Documentary About Home Births Is All About Her

Stefania Pomponi Butler (CityMama) — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 23:04:00 GMT

Ricki Lake's new documentary The Business of Being Born is premiering this week at the Tribeca Film Festival and her publicists have been working overtime to promote it. From interviews on the Huffington Post to this little gem in New York Magazine, it's all about ~~the shortcomings of hospital births~~ Ricki Lake.

Ricki Lake wants us to know that she had a natural child birth at home in her tub. Naked. She wants us to know that her publicist told her that she needed to lose weight if she was going to film her naked water birth so she lost 24 pounds. (But looks "better now," she adds. You know, naked.)

Ricki Lake also wants us to know that after giving birth in her tub (naked), she made her assistant clean it. I'm sorry but what kind of selfish beeyotch makes an assistant clean up a bathtub soiled with amniotic fluid, blood, and afterbirth?

Apparently the assistant "still talks about the experience" to this day. Shoot, if I had to touch Ricki Lake's placenta juice, you bet I'd still be talking about it. Let's just hope Ricki Lake paid her or him a wad of cash. Perhaps Ricki Lake should consider changing the title of movie to The Business of Being an A-Hole.

[via Daddy Types]