Warning: LONG. (Bilge, Phlgirl - you asked for it! 
)
First of all, I don't have the latest statistics - it has been a few years since I was in this field, but I venture to say that the numbers are no better now...
America is failing at providing safe, effective, healthy and satisfying childbirth for families. We have ranked somewhere near 16th / 17th in the world for infant mortality. There are 15 to 16 nations that do better than we do when it comes to keeping our infants safe. Why? While there are other factors, it is largely due to our birth practices in America.
The nations that consistently rank at the top of the list (Scandinavian Countries usually) "do birth" very differently than we do. Birth is viewed as a normal natural process that is best when done at home and with the aide and company of other women (Midwives and Doulas). Obstetricians and hospitals are reserved for that very small percentage of births that actually develop a complication or are considered high risk.
Learn about alternatives (to a hospital birth w/ an obstetrician). Learn about Natural Childbirth. Talk to a Midwife and a Doula. Then - - - MAKE THE DECISION that is best for you. Maybe it is a hospital birth. That is okay. Maybe it is a home birth. That is okay too. But KNOW THAT YOU HAVE A DECISION. Birth does not have to be in the hospital and a hospital birth is very different from a home birth. Don't just go with the default idea about what birth is like in America. Learn about it first - and then make a decision for yourself and your family.
Women having hospital births attended by obstetricians have a disadvantage from the start. Why? Because they are instantly viewed as a patient rather than a woman preparing for a natural event. Interventions are applied to the patient that actually LEAD to REAL problems. There is a chain reaction that occurs in hospital births that leads to unacceptably high statistics (rate of mortality, rate of cesarean births, postpartum depression, epesiodomies, and more)
So, what happens in a hospital birth?
What are some of the results of a birth like this?
I have had three births (one, my last, without many of the interventions listed above - and with no pain meds) I have also attended dozens of other births.
Here is the thing that gets me..... it is knowledge of how birth is IF all the interventions are reserved for a time when they are truly needed.
In a natural childbirth, the baby actually participates in the process. Babies have a few natural reflexes and one is that if you touch the bottom of their feet, they push against it.... straighten their leg. Well, in a natural birth, the baby uses this reflex during the pushing phase of labor and actually participates in pushing his/her self out of the womb. A baby w/ an epidural does not do this. The baby also turns it's own head at the crucial time to aid in getting out. An epidural baby does not.
Things are different after the birth as well: There is an amazing study - with accompanying video showing the difference between a baby born with no pain meds and a baby born with. If a baby is born with no pain meds and is not separated from mom after birth, the baby can actually crawl up moms tummy and begin to nurse with NO ASSISTANCE
If a woman is given the chance to birth naturally with the support of other women, she is so much more likely to have a more satisfying birth, a much better recovery period, an easier time nursing, feel more confident as a mother, and have a decreased chance of postpartum depression.
In closing.... it comes down to education and not just going with the status quo or doing birth the way "they" say birth is to be done. Learn about your choices, reflect on your priorities and how you want your birth to be... Make an informed decision.
)First of all, I don't have the latest statistics - it has been a few years since I was in this field, but I venture to say that the numbers are no better now...
America is failing at providing safe, effective, healthy and satisfying childbirth for families. We have ranked somewhere near 16th / 17th in the world for infant mortality. There are 15 to 16 nations that do better than we do when it comes to keeping our infants safe. Why? While there are other factors, it is largely due to our birth practices in America.
The nations that consistently rank at the top of the list (Scandinavian Countries usually) "do birth" very differently than we do. Birth is viewed as a normal natural process that is best when done at home and with the aide and company of other women (Midwives and Doulas). Obstetricians and hospitals are reserved for that very small percentage of births that actually develop a complication or are considered high risk.
Learn about alternatives (to a hospital birth w/ an obstetrician). Learn about Natural Childbirth. Talk to a Midwife and a Doula. Then - - - MAKE THE DECISION that is best for you. Maybe it is a hospital birth. That is okay. Maybe it is a home birth. That is okay too. But KNOW THAT YOU HAVE A DECISION. Birth does not have to be in the hospital and a hospital birth is very different from a home birth. Don't just go with the default idea about what birth is like in America. Learn about it first - and then make a decision for yourself and your family.
What is the problem with hospital births?
Women having hospital births attended by obstetricians have a disadvantage from the start. Why? Because they are instantly viewed as a patient rather than a woman preparing for a natural event. Interventions are applied to the patient that actually LEAD to REAL problems. There is a chain reaction that occurs in hospital births that leads to unacceptably high statistics (rate of mortality, rate of cesarean births, postpartum depression, epesiodomies, and more)
So, what happens in a hospital birth?
- First the woman is laid flat on her back and strapped to monitors. On her back is the worst possible way to labor. It stalls labor and it makes the woman uncomfortable. The monitors certainly do not lend to her comfort either.
- Next, she is given an IV as a matter of standard procedure. If she presses and asks why, she will be told it is "just in case" or that it is to provide her with nourishment. Why does she need nourishment?
- Because she is told she can no longer eat. Why? Because they don't want her to have anything in her stomach "just in case" she has a cesarean.
- The IV actually serves in slowing down labor. The fluid is diluting the natural hormones that are causing the contractions.
- So, now are woman-going-through-a-natural-process has just barely arrived and already she has been set up for failure.
- She is flat on her back.
- Uncomfortable
- Been given an IV
- All leading to a slow or stalled labor
- And...
- Been told she can't eat .
- What next?
- She is eventually told that her labor is not progressing quickly enough. So.... they break her water (exposing her to a greater risk of infection, making the labor more painful, and making the labor more difficult on the baby)
- Then, likely, they give her pitocin. Good thing they had that IV all ready to go, right? Now, her labor grows extremely painful. She is not able to cope as well as she could because:
- She is stuck on her back in bed.
- She has the monitors on... (they must be on continuously now because the pitocin makes contractions very hard and puts the baby at a higher risk).
- She has IV's coming out of her arm and blood pressure cuffs on the other....
- She is denied the ability to walk, move, change positions (she can get into limited positions on her bed, but not many) and the comfort of water (baths, showers).
- Now, she is progressing (according to the arbitrary schedule put in place by the Obstetric Industry) but her pain is much greater than it would have been and she isn't able to do the things she needs to do to cope...
- Enter pain measures.
- First, she is given something to "take the edge off." What it actually does is make her groggy and unable to move or communicate well, but the pain has not gone away at all.
- So, then she is given an epidural. The pain goes completely away, but so does her emotional connection to the birth, and her ability to move and push effectively.
- Since she can now no longer feel the pain, the docs. increase the pitocin in an effort to speed along the labor. This adds additional strain to the baby.
- Now - - - time to push. Only mom can't push. She is in a horrible pushing position and can't get into a different one because she doesn't have control over her body. She also simply isn't able to push as effectively as she could have had she not had the epidural.
- If she delivers vaginally, she is likely to have a large epesiodomy performed. Doc thinks it is better to cut than to tear. All sorts of reasons that isn't true, but best illustrated with this example. Try to tear a piece of cloth. Pretty hard, right? Now, put a little cut into the end of the cloth, and try to tear again. Now you are able to do it easily. Forceps and/ or vacuum also much more likely to be used - causing larger injury to mother and to baby.
- Then.... either she runs out of time, and goes in for a cesarean or the baby becomes distressed and she goes in for a cesarean.
- Whether born vaginally or by a cesarean, baby is immediately removed from mom and bonding is hindered.
What are some of the results of a birth like this?
- Cesareans have a much longer and more painful recovery period
- Mom is cut off emotionally from the birth experience
- She has a longer and more painful wound if she was able to deliver vaginally
- Baby is not as alert.
- Mom feels very groggy and tired the following days - - - a result of coming off the pain meds.
- Baby has increased difficulty nursing because they were immediately removed from mom and washed.
I have had three births (one, my last, without many of the interventions listed above - and with no pain meds) I have also attended dozens of other births.
Here is the thing that gets me..... it is knowledge of how birth is IF all the interventions are reserved for a time when they are truly needed.
In a natural childbirth, the baby actually participates in the process. Babies have a few natural reflexes and one is that if you touch the bottom of their feet, they push against it.... straighten their leg. Well, in a natural birth, the baby uses this reflex during the pushing phase of labor and actually participates in pushing his/her self out of the womb. A baby w/ an epidural does not do this. The baby also turns it's own head at the crucial time to aid in getting out. An epidural baby does not.
Things are different after the birth as well: There is an amazing study - with accompanying video showing the difference between a baby born with no pain meds and a baby born with. If a baby is born with no pain meds and is not separated from mom after birth, the baby can actually crawl up moms tummy and begin to nurse with NO ASSISTANCE
If a woman is given the chance to birth naturally with the support of other women, she is so much more likely to have a more satisfying birth, a much better recovery period, an easier time nursing, feel more confident as a mother, and have a decreased chance of postpartum depression.
In closing.... it comes down to education and not just going with the status quo or doing birth the way "they" say birth is to be done. Learn about your choices, reflect on your priorities and how you want your birth to be... Make an informed decision.
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