I recently stumbled across this awesome blog
Banned from Baby Showers and loved everything this article had to say.
Don't Drink the Kool-Aid!
American women have drank the Kool-aid and have been completely brainwashed! You know the Kool-aid I'm talking about: The
purple Kool-aid says that if the baby doesn't come out in 24 hours, it won't fit and the mom should be sectioned. The
red one says that if a woman is 40 weeks, she is overdue and the baby will die if she isn't induced. The
green Kool-aid says that an epidural is just an epidural. And the
orange
one says that a cesarean is safer for mom and baby. We won't even get
to the Kool-aid that tells you that your baby can manipulate you! The
list goes on and on. I just picked a few from some common American
birth myths that I've heard repeated lately.
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| DON'T DRINK THE KOOL-AI |
I just heard this story last night and I have permission to relay it
here. I am appalled that with such great birth choices, women are being
sectioned 60% of the time not 20 minutes up the road from me. Here's
the story from the lactation consultant:
Saw
another "victim" of Dr. Seligman & MCA (Medical Center of Arlington) today. At 38.5 weeks, her baby
hadn't dropped so Dr. S told her they needed to induce on Tuesday and
she would probably need a c/s at 39 weeks. After 10 hours on pitocin, baby
still hadn't moved down so Dr. S. told her that the baby probably
wouldn't fit through her pelvis anyway, so they needed to do a c/s.
Baby was born weighing 7lb 4oz, still covered in lanugo and has very
little suck reflex. :-( Mom is starting the make the connection that
baby was NOT ready to come yet. Said her mom delivered all of her
babies at 42 weeks. Oh, and she said that Dr. Seligman's parting comment
to her was "Next time we'll just schedule the c/s for 39 weeks and avoid
all of this other nonsense."
This
story really touched a nerve with me. Frankly, her doctor is a
complete idiot. I feel horrible for the mom. This is some bad Kool-aid
she drank, but she trusted her doctor. Very few don't trust their doctor and end up in the same situation. He should not be practicing medicine.
What about the woman that labors "too long"?
"It's
barbaric to expect a woman to labor for 24 hours without drugs. Put
her out of her misery! If she's labored that long, surely something is
wrong. She should just have a c-section." There is another
OB at the Medical Center of Arlington in Arlington, TX, Dr. Udell, that
tells her "patients" that the only humane way to have a baby is via
cesarean. She laughs if a woman tells her she wants to have an
unmedicated birth. Yes, this OB is a woman, and no, she does
not
have children. I only know one woman who has had a vaginal birth with
her, and frankly, it's because the labor was so fast, the OB didn't have
time to intervene. Although she did find a way to get her flat on her
back despite the mom wanting to be on hands and knees...
I know of another OB in Mansfield, TX that routinely tells her
"patients" that "nothing good happens after 40 weeks" and insists on
induction at that time. The baby
must have a sticky note with
the date circled in red ink on the side of the uterus so it knows just
when it is expected. It will be
evicted by 40 weeks if mom is with Dr. W. It is dangerous to stay pregnant another day! Induce, induce, induce!
"An epidural is safe and you are crazy if you don't sign up for one."
This Kool-aid tastes so good, mostly because we want it to. It's just
an epidural. Nevermind the cascading interventions when a mom says she
wants
"her epidural".
IV fluids, catheterization, blood pressure cuff, continuous electronic
fetal monitoring, possible internal fetal monitoring (which includes
breaking water - I'll come back to this one in a minute), fever reducer,
pitocin, is more likely to have an episiotomy and assisted delivery
(forceps/vacuum), and ultimately, she is more likely to have a cesarean.
I just want to mention briefly that I am hearing less and less about
internal monitoring. I honestly believe that we have become too blase
about c-sections that everyone is just comfortable with going straight
for the cesarean rather than use a more accurate form of monitoring.
Just an observation.
And the cesarean Kool-aid... This is the biggest lie of them all.
"Cesareans are safe -- even safer -- for mom and baby than a vaginal birth."
Shame on anyone who believes this to be an acceptable -- and even
preferred -- way to get the baby out. Women are going in for surgery
and have no idea how this will impact them or their baby for the rest of
their lives. Someone always has to jump in and tell me why they
had
to have a cesarean. Yes, folks, I am very aware that a cesarean does
sometimes save a life and sometimes the baby really can't get out on
his/her own. Very aware. What is the rate where you live? What is the
cesarean rate at your closest hospital? You should know these things.
What can you do about it? We're getting to that.
So many women (and men) feel defeated when it comes to the Kool-aid.
Everyone has drank it. I think two things have to happen. We can
scream the truth from the rooftops, but that may or may not work.
1) We have to start with the younger generation. Don't be
afraid to talk about birth with them. Talk to your sons and daughters.
Just casual conversations. Tell them about the day they were born, how
their birth was amazing and special. Just hearing different words
associated with birth makes the Kool-aid not taste so good when they do
hear it in our culture.
2) Get involved in making change happen. You have to open your mouth, or at least get involved and help the people who are opening
their mouths! There is a rally being formed all across the country right now to take place on Labor Day, September 3, 2012. Go to
Improving Birth
for details. There may already be organizers putting a rally together
in your community. If not, YOU DO IT! Change has to start with
someone. Why not YOU?
